Information Handyman articles

A help file to assist you with using the free Information Auditing software available from the ‘Information Auditor 2.3 link above.

More..

Many of us find the data and information we store to be in all sorts of areas, be it in the basement VHS collection, on the bookshelf, emails on the home computer, or spread out over an organisation in various silos. If we wanted to access all the information we had on hiring staff we’d get ourselves into an awful pickle hunting through each of the informational areas.

More..

Let’s start by asking what is an information policy? Though organisations will vary on the scope of a policy, it is generally a document that has been approved by senior management that covers how employees create, access, store, and dispose of information whether of a personal or business nature. It should cover all the information assets held by the organisation, including emails, and be easily accessible to all staff - perhaps on the intranet or held within the ‘policy’ folder of the business. Aspects of it could also be available for the public, particularly if your organisation is subject to freedom of information legislation. More..

There was much ado in January 2005 when the Freedom of Information Act came into force, with newspapers publicizing some high profile instances where they had used the Act to obtain information. However, many people are still in the dark as to how exactly to submit a request. “Is there a special form to fill out and where do I get it from?” was one question we received recently. Putting in a freedom of information act request is quite the opposite, however. You don’t even need to quote the act. Let’s explore just what you do need to supply when making a request.

More..

It’s not uncommon for people within the records management profession to be undervalued. The fact is, most people think little of it but a new politically correct term for a filing clerk. As someone who’s been involved in the profession since 1990, the truth is a little more complex.

Though it can involve circulating files, the emphasis is very much more on setting up procedures so that people can manage their own records easily, minimise their risk, and reduce their costs.

More..

nce we’re clear about just what a record is, it’s time to create a folder structure that will provide you with a way of capturing, accessing and disposing of them.

There are a number of names that we call these ‘folder structures’ - a thesaurus, a classification scheme, a business file plan, a records tree, a hierarchy of terms – all attempt to explain a set of pointers to or containers for information that we can navigate into and out of – so that we can access our information. If possible, we can also add retention and security criteria to these folders, but we’ll be looking at those issues another time. For the moment, we’ll focus on the backbone of records management - the folder structure. Once that’s in place we’ll be able to develop further protocols to ensure our information’s integrity is maintained and we don’t suffer from overload.

More..

What is a record? A perenial question asked by records professionals as well as their clients. Back in the paper age records managers kept a tight grip on the definition of a record. In order not to accumulate too much information in what would normally be an expensive file store, they’d restrict it to any documents - in any format, sent or received - that recorded a transaction or decision taken in the course of official business.

More..