Margot Note's Blog, page 13

Conducting a Peer Review

Scholarly publishing relies heavily on reviewers. In addition to validating academic work, peer review improves the quality of published research and facilitates networking among researchers.

Identifying which papers can be published is guided by peer reviewers. Identification of flaws in methodology and unfounded conclusions is crucial. A reviewer should also distinguish potential problems.

The community benefits from accepting a review. Reviewers can learn from others in their areas of interest.

Types of Peer Review

In single anonymized reviews, the names of the reviewers are hidden from the author. This type of peer review is the traditional method of reviewing. The benefit of reviewer anonymity is impartiality, but it can also veer into unnecessarily harsh commentary on the authors’ work.

In a double anonymized review, both the reviewer and the author are anonymous. Author anonymity limits reviewer bias based on gender, country of origin, academic status, or publication history. It also allows for articles written by prestigious or renowned authors to be considered on the content of their article rather than their reputation.

However, total author anonymity is not guaranteed because authors could be identified by subject (especially when the field of study is narrow), writing style, or self-citation.

With a triple anonymized review, reviewers are anonymous, and the author’s identity is unknown to reviewers and editors. The complexities involved in anonymizing articles to this level are considerable.

Open review is an umbrella term for many models aiming at greater transparency during the peer review process. For example, the reviewer and author are known to each other during the process. Other types of open review may make peer-review reports or publications transparent for open discussion with the community.

Some believe open reviews encourage honest reviewing. However, others see the process as problematic; politeness or fear of retribution may cause reviewers to withhold or tone down criticism.

How to Peer Review

Try to have an uninterrupted block of time to read the manuscript entirely. Doing so will give an overview of the flow of the paper. Realize that it will take several hours to complete a review. With experience, the time required will likely decrease. Develop a system. Writing a meaningful review away from reference materials and computers is complex.

The primary job of a reviewer is to review content. Is the content accurate and up to date? Conduct a literature search to ensure that all relevant information is included in the manuscript.

The manuscript should include a discussion of critical studies in the field. Content also should be balanced between introductory and more advanced material. Do not assume that every reader is as familiar with the topic; basic explanatory information should be included.

The second reading of the manuscript should take place after the literature search. Notes can be made on aspects of the manuscript discussed in the review, such as missing literature, overemphasis on some sections, inaccurate or out-of-date content, lack of focus, particular strengths, clarity of tables and figures, and suggestions for change. 

Most of the content should be referenced, preferably with peer-reviewed references. Check as many references as possible. Ensure that the references are used accurately and not taken out of context. If errors were found in citations, include that information in the review. Errors in citations might imply a carelessness in manuscript preparation that may carry forward into the body of the paper.

Do not spend time reviewing grammar or style, and do not rewrite the manuscript. The reviewer’s job is to assess the content, not the style. In the review, describe whether the manuscript reads clearly and flows well. Have familiarity with the journal’s author guidelines. In the review, note whether the manuscript seems right for the journal and whether the author followed guidelines.

If there are conflicts of interest, inform the editor and return the manuscript as soon as possible. Conflicts may include recognizing the author, having a financial interest in the subjects discussed, or having bias about the topic. Confidentiality is part of the reviewer’s role, and the manuscript should not be shared or discussed with anyone other than the editor.

Comments to the author should be professional and positive. Employ constructive criticism and avoid negativity. Finally, make an overall assessment and recommendation to reject or accept, with or without major or minor revisions. Reviewers play an invaluable role in upholding the professional standards of their field.

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Dynamic Range and Resolution for Digitization Projects

There is a fundamental difference between two types of light mixtures that complicates the reproduction of images on monitors or in print. 

Our sight distinguishes millions of colors from two types of light mixtures: additive or subtractive. The former involves adding different parts of the light spectrum. In contrast, the latter consists of the subtraction of parts of the spectrum, allowing the transmission of the remaining portions. Computer monitors use an additive system, while print is subtractive. This difference complicates image reproduction.

Capturing Digital Images

Dynamic range is the span of difference between the image’s lightest light and darkest dark. The higher the dynamic range, the more shades are represented. However, the dynamic range does not automatically correlate to the number of tones reproduced. Therefore, dynamic range also describes a system’s ability to produce tonal information, which may be the most critical aspect of image quality.

Color depth is also known as sample depth or bit depth because a binary value represents digital color values. The number of bits representing each pixel, or the number of bits recording the value of each sample, determines how many colors can appear in a digital image. Higher color depth gives a broader color range. However, the more color information captured and stored, the higher the file size. 

8-bit grayscale is recommended for capturing and representing printed text, music manuscripts, hand- or typewritten papers, photographs, and graphic arts where color is unimportant. Grayscale images of this range create 256 shades of gray, and the human eye cannot detect any tone changes. 

24-bit color is recommended for archival-quality color images. A 24-bit color image can be created from a palette of 16 million colors, capturing a spectrum beyond human perception. In addition, a 24-bit color display is currently the highest bit depth available on affordable monitors. 

Resolution for Digital Images

Resolution refers to the quantity of detail described in pixel dimensions, such as 4000 by 5000, with the horizontal dimension provided before the vertical. DPI and PPI are standard terms used to express resolution. Dots per inch (dpi) measure the number of dots of ink a printer can produce. Pixels per inch (ppi) measure the number of pixels in an image within a linear one-inch space. 

From a digital project perspective, the most important difference between chemically based and digitally produced images is that analog images contain continuous tones. In contrast, discrete, measurable, and reproducible elements create digital images. Unlike analog photographs that vary constantly, the grid approximates digital images’ fine details and smooth curves, as continuous tonal gradients are broken into steps. For example, in physical photographs, enlargement reveals more detail but a grainier picture. Users cannot enlarge digital images beyond a certain point because they have limited spatial and tonal resolution; they show their microstructure as their pixels become prominent. Therefore, images should be captured and digitized at the highest quality practical. Transforming a high-resolution image into a lower-resolution image is easy, but doing the reverse without pixelation is impossible. 

Selecting the quality level depends on analyzing the images’ desired uses in the long term. For instance, undergraduates would find low-resolution images suitable for classroom use. In contrast, conservators assessing details would require high-resolution files. 

Depending on their type and quality, monitors display images between 72 and 100 ppi, with top models displaying 200 ppi, in which the pixels present a smooth appearance. Low resolution is suitable for preparing images to be displayed on the screen, such as on a website. Low-resolution images online prevent the usage of the images for commercial printing. However, printed images require 300 dpi to replicate the sharpness of their originals. Most inkjet printers can produce 300 to 1200 dots per inch. 

Masters and Derivatives

Digital files require master and derivative versions. Master files are of the highest quality available. The scans are rich enough to use without rescanning. From these, copies of the images create lower-quality, more easily distributed files. Master files should be digitized at 600 to 300 ppi and saved as TIFF images. Thumbnails and smaller-scale images, such as those suitable for online delivery, can be produced from these master files as 72 ppi JPEGs.

Suppose the digital image is resized without increasing or decreasing the number of pixels, the resolution of the image changes. For example, a 900 by 900-pixel image three inches wide has a resolution of 300 ppi. Each square inch contains 300 by 300 or 90,000 pixels. If the image is resized to six inches wide, without increasing the number of pixels, the 900 by 900-pixel image now has a resolution of 150 ppi as the 900 pixels are stretched over 6 inches instead of 3. Each square inch contains 150 by 150 or 22,500 pixels. Conversely, the resolution increases if someone decreases the image size without changing the number of pixels within the image. 

One and Done

Materials should be scanned once, creating a high-resolution image from which to derive smaller images to ensure that the originals have as little handling and light exposure as possible. If archivists follow best practices related to dynamic range, resolution, and formats, they can be confident that they will only need to perform digitization of their holdings once.  

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Digitization Basics for Archivists

Archival repositories can generate surrogates for various purposes, such as PDFs for print reproduction, JPEGs for online display, and TIFFs for storage. 

The hundredth copy of a digital image is indistinguishable from its progenitors. Electronic copies suffer no degradation through the duplication process, unlike other forms of copying, such as facsimiles. A copy of a digital image is indistinguishable from its source, while the original can lose its meaning in this electronic world. 

Depending on the collection, different approaches to digitizing may be used. In some cases, institutions may only be interested in the information the material conveys, and the medium of expression is irrelevant. However, in most collections, creating a digital representation of the information within the materials and the visual aspects, such as color, type, formatting, layout, or condition, is desirable. 

Archivists embrace the digital world as they transform their physical holdings into electronic records. Digitization projects bring broad issues and technological nuances into sharper relief. Archivists consider the physical size, nature, and condition of records of enduring value as they affect the characteristics of the desired product. They must likewise address whether available conversion methods can satisfy expectations for the result. From the beginning of a project, archivists must understand the basics of digitization. 

Understanding Fundamental Concepts

Depending on their collections and resources, institutions should use the best cameras and scanners they can afford with the greatest dynamic range and highest resolution. Digitization is often outsourced to a vendor, making it unnecessary to purchase equipment. However, archivists do benefit from an understanding of the technology involved.

Digital cameras differ from traditional cameras because a light-sensitive silicon chip called an image sensor replaces film. Photosensitive diodes on the sensor’s surface convert light passing through the lens into electrical impulses, measured and converted into a number; the more light, the greater the impulse. A grid of picture elements known as pixels compose the final image. Each pixel records color and brightness measurements, which holds instructions for recreating the pixel. A device built into the camera or removable card stores the information, and software programs translate the data and display it on a screen.

Most scanners move a scanning head across the item. A flatbed scanner has a glass plate on which archivists can scan the record. Film scanners are flatbed scanners with a light source that transmits light through the film to the sensors. Many flatbed scanners claim to be slide scanners, as one can use templates to fix the slides for scanning. However, the resolution may be poor, worsened by the fact that the slide is removed, albeit fractionally, from the surface of the glass. 

With color negatives, scanners separate tonalities compressed in the shadows. Density is low, so transmission is high; the scanner sensors work with bright light. In addition, they neutralize the orange tone in color-negative materials to obtain lifelike colors. 

In contrast, color transparencies have high densities and tonal subtleties that the scanner must sense. As a result, scanners need large dynamic ranges and high bit depths to scan both materials. Consequently, film scanners produce better results than flatbed scanners converted to scan film. 

Deeper Study through Digitized Materials

Archivists implement different techniques and methods to protect and ensure the maximum usage of archival material. Digitization is one of these techniques. It provides maximum usage and protection of the archival material as well. However, besides the advantages of digitization, it is a technical process. Thus, experts should preplan and carry out digitization, and should consider factors like archival material and users.

Digital images act as surrogates of the archival originals and allow for deeper study than their analog counterparts since scholars can view unseen details. However, with digitized images, users risk losing information that enables them to understand context and physicality over time. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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The Business Case for Archival Digitization

If done correctly, digitization can help archival repositories become more user-centric and higher performing. 

Archivists can accelerate their gains from digitization by presenting a business case for digital transformation to those who lead their organizations. 

To do so, archivists should always start digitization projects with their end goals in mind. They must consider what they are trying to accomplish and build a strategy based on those discoveries. Only when they have defined the objectives for the project can they start to determine how they will reach them. Archivists should set their goals first and build strategies with the organization’s support. 

Prestige through Partnerships 

Decision-makers within organizations can often be persuaded to support archives programs and digitization projects if they understand how doing so can offer the organization status and prestige through relationships with users, donors, and institutions. 

For example, archivists may entice holders of valued collections to bequeath those collections to a repository because of digitization. When an individual or organization looks to donate a collection, they are motivated by various goals. In most cases providing public access to the collection and protecting the collection are high priorities. An institution with the capacity to demonstrate a track record of providing digitization can offer strong assurance of both access to and protection of the collection. 

Digitization also raises the profile of institutions. Institutions that allow specialized and generic search engines to locate the materials in their digital collections and participate in cross-institution efforts like the Digital Public Library of America will have their results listed with holdings from esteemed institutions like the Library of Congress. 

Small institutions may have a world-class collection of niche topics and can leverage the digitization of those collections to increase their research globally. With larger institutions, a researcher often starts with the institution and discovers and learns about a particular collection. However, the opposite is often true with smaller institutions: a researcher finds a collection and then learns about the institution and community access to that collection, and as a result, increases the visibility of the institution itself, bringing tangible, worldwide recognition to its collections. 

Investment in Digitization

Investing in resources is an important part of digitization, but it is not the only component. If archivists add digitization to the same processes and practices they have used, they will continue to experience the same productivity and performance issues encountered in other projects. However, if archivists treat digitization as an opportunity for profound, fundamental improvements in how users search, find, and share information, archivists will realize the transformative power of digitization. 

Digitization projects are unsuccessful without colleagues who know how to get the most out of their results. Archivists should take a two-pronged approach to connect people and digitization. First, they should rely on colleagues with technical skills to guide the project and choose tools designed to be intuitive for the less tech-savvy to understand. 

Archivists want to create a culture where everyone brings awareness and skill to their jobs across the organization. Hiring new people based on talent and training existing employees to strengthen their digital capabilities is a viable approach.

Seeking Big Wins

Digitization can potentially transform every part of a repository and its workflow. While it is important to see the organization holistically and to pursue improvements across collections, archivists do not have to digitize everything at once. As part of their digitization strategy, archivists should identify areas where the organization will benefit most from digitization. Then archivists should balance that against where they can make significant changes quickly. This will help shape the thinking about ongoing initiatives and guide the investments in an enabling digital infrastructure to support them.

Archivists also must decide what issues digitization can improve, prioritize, and evaluate every potential project against those criteria. Whatever the goal, archivists must establish criteria to ensure digitization will move organizations toward that future state. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Digitization in a Post-Pandemic World

The appetite for digital materials seems infinite, as institutions scan or photograph bound materials, manuscripts, artwork, maps, translucent materials such as film or glass plate negatives, textiles, artifacts, and specimens. 

Digital collections evolve through investments of time, effort, and resources. However strong the coverage might be in any subject, there is always room for improvement: more images, higher quality digital capture and scanning, and richer data. With academic discourse fanning into increasingly specialized areas of inquiry, archival collections will grow exponentially, as well as their digitized counterparts. 

Digitization represents a fundamental shift in how collections are accessed and protected, and brings together various sectors of research communities. For example, scholars are creating or using electronic resources to further their research, remote education models prompt teachers to gather resources online, and publishers are integrating print with digital editions to reach wider audiences. In addition, the interactive capabilities of the Internet provide new opportunities for archives to develop global user communities to utilize their collections. 

Covid-19 and Digitization

Many institutions created fundamental digital practices and burgeoning digitization programs in the late 1990s or early 2000s. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused some organizations that had not digitized their holdings to implement digitization programs finally. 

In writing about digitizing a local history collection at Oklahoma’s Chickasha Public Library, Michelle Skinner observes that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed institutions to remove further barriers to access: 

COVID-19 safety procedures have increased the necessity for libraries to create digital programs, as well as for expanded informational access in a greater variety of formats. Hosting documents online— without paywalls or requiring individual subscriptions to websites—vastly increases the number of people who can access the information and also encourages self-directed research and discovery.

She continues: 

Digitizing primary sources can also be an opportunity…to contribute to the historic narrative by highlighting voices and experiences of marginalized communities—which have often been overlooked or misrepresented—and therefore provide a more accurate and inclusive history. Ephemeral documents—such as letters, personal recollections, or photographs—can offer glimpses of everyday life as experienced by ordinary people. These details can make history come to life, illustrating the unique struggles and triumphs of a particular community, as well as how that history relates to more universal themes.

New Projects and the New Normal

During the pandemic, archival users have dramatically increased their use of online collections, and repositories have responded in turn and shifted towards interacting with users through digital channels. In addition, the rates of creating digital materials have increased, likely resulting from the pandemic forcing repositories to refocus their efforts on the collections and projects they already had underway rather than acquiring new collections. In addition, funds previously earmarked for events and other public gatherings could now be directed toward projects like digitization. 

The speed with which archival organizations have responded to various COVID-19-related changes may be even greater than their digitization efforts. For example, the pandemic forced many archival institutions to consider remote work the only viable way to work. In other circumstances, remote work would not have been possible, but the pandemic required institutions to implement a workable solution quickly. 

Remote Access

Creating more robust online collections and infrastructure was not a top business concern for many organizations before the pandemic. Lack of leadership alignment, fear of user resistance to changes, insufficient IT infrastructure, and organizational silos also impeded commitment to and execution of the required changes. These issues are likely to remain in place in the long term. However, increases in remote working, changing needs, and user preferences for remote research have made the digitization of archival holdings a priority for many organizations. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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The Benefits of Digitization

Although digitization initiatives are complex, when managed successfully, their benefits outweigh the skills, costs, and time required. 

Digital files are superior to past surrogate forms like microfilm because they are delivered via networks, offering enhanced access to multiple simultaneous users worldwide. Archivists can index digitized images for accurate identification and instantaneous retrieval. Physical proximity to digital collections is unnecessary, unlike analog collections. 

Better Access

Digitization profoundly broadens access by lowering the barrier to entry for discovering and examining collections. In the past, only a narrow demographic had the time and resources to travel to view a collection at an institution. Now, anyone with the Internet can access a digital collection. Online collections increase access, especially those in high demand and with key historical or intellectual content. Additionally, collections may increase demand for items previously ignored. Novel research experiences are possible by browsing through a collection, allowing for different methods of intellectual access to information. 

Research is becoming increasingly common to begin and end with a digital-only search. When an adequately formed search can return a deluge of relevant digitized collections, it is difficult to justify a costlier search through physical archives in terms of both time and expense. 

Unfortunately, as the world’s holdings are digitized, this trend will likely continue, relegating to obscurity undigitized collections. The bias towards digital material is myopic; however, many users, especially those with little experience with physical archival materials, prefer digital surrogates and may perceive archives as only existing online. 

Increased Functionality 

Digital collections can reinstate material into circulation that archivists may have withdrawn for conservation or security reasons. In addition, digital files could add functionality to how the collection was traditionally used, such as allowing for the analysis of damaged materials. Digital images may also supplement existing digital collections held locally or remotely. 

Other benefits, including the development of technical infrastructure and staff skill capacities, opportunities for collaboration, and securing funding make digitization worthwhile for institutions embarking on projects of their own. 

Digital collections provide enriched intellectual control and multiple points of access. Repositories mount thumbnails on websites, and different institutions can display records together to tell a more historically accurate story. Increasingly sophisticated linked webs combine text, images, metadata, and annotations. 

No matter the procedures archivists put in place, the physical handling of a record always causes degradation of its condition. If archivists digitize the materials with preservation-grade image quality, future handling can be eliminated for many materials and significantly reduced for others.

Digital files provide extraordinary details. The resolution and ease of magnification in a digital viewer allow easy holistic examination of an object, from the full view of a large object to a minor feature. It is common for this to result in a viewing experience that exceeds the quality of an in-person examination. 

Self-Promotion 

The availability of digital images satisfies most users’ research needs. However, the Internet brings broader knowledge of the existence of items, which leads to more research requests to view the originals. Digitization can be self-promoting because the easier a record is to use, the more researchers will use it, and the higher the demand for similar records. If preservation is an issue, high-resolution files allow for adequate access. Additionally, as collections become more vulnerable to damage and their monetary value and susceptibility to theft increase, more restrictive access may occur. 

Digital files assist preservation and access, making it possible to retire the original material with access restrictions, extending its life for future generations. Digital files may be the only way to view some records of enduring value. Making materials available through digital surrogates allows easier access by users and a more accurate historical picture. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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The Purpose of Corporate History

Organizations that downplay their history and traditions risk losing their values, need for vision and purpose, and competence. 

Leading with a sense of history is not to be enslaved to the past, but rather to acknowledge its power.

Business History

The history of a business is a key to its identity, and the memory of its strategic path helps to focus its identity better. Knowledge of the corporation deepens with an awareness of the twists and turns that have brought it to its current situation. History also helps us understand how the company’s culture has developed through its path, created as a result of choices made over time. 

Corporate history is especially pertinent during transition periods, such as when founders step down from leading the company and long-term employees retire. An organization is at an inflection point where the old guard is starting to move on, and people who are left have no sense of the company’s history. Appreciating an organization’s history helps explain its culture and makes it strong and sustainable. 

Morale Booster

The history of a business is a source of creativity because awareness of choices undertaken in the past may generate innovative ideas, either through further development of previous ideas or, more simply, by recovering ideas that were discarded in the past. In addition, seeing how a particular problem was solved in the past may facilitate the development of processes to solve current issues. 

Having a sense of corporate history available also provides energy and trust for those making decisions. Accessing the past in the present helps put the present in context. It contributes to understanding the relativity of what seems now exceptional and complex. In the past, problems considered particularly challenging and unique put current issues into perspective.

History is useful as a diagnostic tool and a method to recall significant moments from the past to motivate employees in the present. Corporate history contains its heritage and traditions, which senior managers need to understand if they see the present as part of a process rather than a collection of accidental happenings. In addition, perceiving a company in this way can enhance the leadership team’s ability to plan. 

A Culture of Collaboration 

Collaboration leads to better project outcomes, the more efficient delivery of schemes, improved business performance, and greater client satisfaction. In addition, collaboration creates a culture that drives innovation and solutions to unexpected challenges during every project. As a result, collaboration has a significant impact on success.

Thriving businesses have instilled the following within their organizational culture: 

Providing clear, consistent leadership and expecting the same from interested stakeholders. 

Allocating collective responsibility, risk, and reward to all those involved in a project to drive a collaborative culture. 

Avoiding ambiguity which undermines collaboration. Roles and responsibilities must be defined, software standardized to aid communication, and procedures for tackling problems and resolving conflicts in place. 

Embracing technology to improve collaboration. Capitalizing on opportunities requires courage, as new technologies are untested, and public procurement often favors low-risk behavior and tried-and-tested approaches.

Teams work collaboratively. They believe in employee involvement and input from key stakeholders. At the outset, successful businesses lay the foundations of collaboration by estimating procures to facilitate effective communication and timely issue resolution. By promoting mutual respect and trust, early stakeholder involvement, consensus building, and leadership, organizations successfully achieve their goals and maximize quality while maintaining the budget and schedule. 

History as Power

Researchers emphasize that some businesses have access to a particular portfolio of resources and capabilities, from which are derived certain behaviors and opportunities. Such resources and outcomes include extensive social capital, focus on non-financial objectives, long-term orientation, high levels of employee care, high wages, strong employee motivation, and elevated levels of organizational trust. These attributes allow organizations to survive and thrive in the most challenging economic times.  

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Identifying Records for Retention

Making decisions about the disposition of records seems like an overwhelming task. It helps to begin by surveying records. 

Fortunately, most records fall into significant categories consistent from one organization to the next.

Record retention schedules contain recommendations on scheduling many records for retention or disposal. Retention schedules generally include a list of record types with a recommendation for how long to retain the record before it is destroyed or transferred to the archives. Of course, while many standard schedules are helpful, the guidelines are general and cannot address every organizational need.

Records Lifecycle

Therefore, in addition to using published retention schedules, organizations must evaluate their records and determine retention periods based on the lifecycle of the records. The lifecycle of a record has three stages: active use, semi-active use, and disposition. 

Active use records are materials currently in use and are referred to frequently. Semi-active use refers to the records that are not currently used but are still referred to occasionally. Active and semi-active use records are retained and stored for as long as they are helpful to the organization, whether for six months or a decade. They may also need to be retained for specific periods due to legal or regulatory records. 

Semi-active use records may be stored elsewhere to make systems work more efficiently. However, very few records, if any, are actually in active or semi-active use after a decade. 

Records no longer in use are in the final stage of the lifecycle: disposition. Records in this category are rarely needed for reference, legal, financial, or administrative purposes. Most records at this stage are destroyed. However, some records have continuing value and are retained for the archives.

Keeping Materials Permanently 

Deciding which records have enduring value is subjective. General lists of common records to preserve, while helpful in aiding decision-making, are never the final authority in determining the permanent value of records. Records illustrating an organization’s purpose, activities, and values are archival and should be preserved. However, only a fraction of the organization’s records has lasting value. Records that contain that value answer these essential questions:

Why and how was the organization formed?

What were the organization’s priorities?

How and why did the institution’s focus change over time?

Who provided guidance and leadership within the organization?

What role did the organization play within the community?

What impact has the organization made?

It is important to avoid preserving only the organization’s highlights, such as awards and plaques. These mementos have sentimental value and should be retained in the archives; they are helpful in publications, exhibits, and marketing efforts because they illustrate the organization’s history. However, the substance of the organizational archives is found in records that demonstrate the organization’s goals, decisions, programs, and policies.

Digitization for Access

Digitization gives organizations a powerful tool to improve access to their semi-active and historical records. Digitized records take up little space and can be easily shared. However, digitization projects are expensive to implement and maintain and should only be entered into after researching and planning. Paper records can be put into storage and pulled out as needed for examination. They may be able to last this way for many decades. In contrast, electronic records require a commitment from the organization to prevent them from becoming outdated, corrupted, or lost. Therefore, a retrospective digitization project should not scan all of an organization’s older files, only those that still have lasting value. Suppose an organization does decide to digitize its older records. In that case, it may still want to consider depositing the original paper records and the electronic versions in either an in-house archives or an external repository.

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Record Filing Methods and Maintenance

The functions of records maintenance include organizing and filing records and identifying which records to retain and for how long.

Current records should be arranged for efficient retrieval. Deciding how to file records can be straightforward; it begins with carefully examining the records currently in use. Are they already filed in a way that allows for quick access? Is the current system logical, consistent, and convenient? Could a new employee interpret and understand it? If so, there is no need to change the system. An existing system that works well, or frankly reasonably well, for the organization should be left in place. On the other hand, if the existing system is cumbersome, idiosyncratic, or nonexistent, the records require another system.

Filing Methods

The first step in setting up a new arrangement for current records is to focus on the daily operational needs of the organization. There are three primary filing methods: department or function, subject, or chronology. An organization might choose one of these arrangement methods or, more likely, combine two or all three methods. Most records may be filed according to the department that produced them and subdivided by topic, subject, or chronology.

Filing records by department or function is usually the most successful arrangement method. It has the advantage of clearly demonstrating the organization’s activities, functions, and structure and is the preferred arrangement for archival records. In addition, this method brings together all records documenting a specific activity within the organization. 

An organization with a less formal structure might file its records under topic headings that reflect its work. This arrangement poses problems as subjects overlap or intersect or the list of subjects becomes unwieldy. However, this is a successful system if the subjects are limited in number, clearly defined, and distinct from one another.

A small, narrowly focused organization can file its records chronologically. This method does not work well for large, diversified, complex organizations. It is, however, adequate to meet the needs of institutions that deal primarily with single issues, topics, or projects and whose records are not voluminous. 

Questions to Ask

When developing standardized file plans, it is also essential to consider all the records created daily at the organization. For example, how are important files stored: on individual computers or shared servers? Are files named in a standardized manner? How are copies or versions of a record identified? 

A standardized policy across the organization will improve its ability to find important files. In addition, having a policy enhances the organization’s ability to meet its business, financial, and legal needs and improves access to its archival records.

Determining a Filing System

Because each filing method has advantages and disadvantages, selecting an appropriate system examines the characteristics of the organization’s recordkeeping practices. First, consider how records are used or called for. The nature of the records and how they will be requested should be the first determining factor in your system selection. Next, examine how many records are maintained and the organization’s size. The organization’s size usually dictates the number of individuals responsible for filing records and those authorized to access the files. Usually, the larger the office, the greater the number of people who will process and use the records. Lastly, consider who uses the records. The system selected should be appropriate to the employees using the records. For example, a subject classification system may benefit the records best defined by distinct, specialized topics. In contrast, records that fall into easily identified groups and are accessed by many employees are better arranged by other methods. 

No matter what filing system is chosen, organizations should set up consistent categories which accommodate documents created and stored in various paper and electronic formats.

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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Conducting a Records Survey

A records survey is a useful tool for understanding the existing records of an organization. The survey creates an inventory that reveals existing record groups, locations, conditions, and quantities. 

Knowledge of the collections enables the first step in organizing records. In addition, it serves as an opportunity to discover and correct current recordkeeping problems and to anticipate and avoid future ones.

The survey facilitates efficient recordkeeping practices. Records become easier to understand through surveying, which simplifies tasks of creating a records retention schedule and implementing an archives program. Retention schedules specify which records should be retained, for how long, and which to discard or preserve in the archives. The survey also determines the volume of records, assesses their contents, contexts, and date ranges, and identifies materials that require special handling, such as rare materials, unusual formats, or damaged items. 

The survey is most effective when archivists, records managers, or people with some record management or institutional knowledge conduct interviews of key employees who use the records. A skilled surveyor can anticipate the record types usually created or maintained by a particular function and ask leading questions to trigger information about those records. 

Departmental Analysis

The analysis of a department leads to understanding its place in the institution. A department’s functions are revealed beyond where the department may appear on the organization chart. From this insight, it is possible to identify the unique records that are created or held by the department.

Before conducting the records survey, consider the following questions: 

What are the department’s functions?

How is the department organized? Are there divisions or sections?

What programs or projects does the department manage?

What committees do the department have?

What is unique about the department and its functions?

What is most important to document about the department?

Records Survey Questions

The following questions should be considered for each records series. A record series is a grouping or assortment of records maintained together because they form a unit based on their functions or relationships with one another. Consider the following topics:

Department: Which unit within the organization created these records?

Contact: Who is familiar with the records as questions arise? What is their contact information?

Record series: What is a brief, descriptive title for each group of records?

Content: What subjects, events, or people are represented?

Arrangement: How are the records organized? Is there an order or none at all?

Volume: How many materials are there? Use consistent measurements across all records series, such as linear feet, boxes, or filing drawers, when possible.

Format: What formats does this collection hold? Will specialized storage or handling be necessary?

Condition: What condition are the records in? Are their preservation problems?

Location: Where are the materials housed? Are they in the office or stored elsewhere?

Inclusive dates: What is the date range? What is the bulk of the records?

Active use: Are the records still needed in their department? Are they actively used, such as being consulted more than once a month? Are they semi-active? Are they inactive?

Values: Are these materials historical? Do they reveal important historical information about the organization’s founding, values, activities, and goals? Are they vital? Are they crucial to the organization’s existence? Should they be kept permanently after their period of active use?

Next Steps

The record survey results are used to identify specific records series for preservation. The survey is also consulted to determine the retention periods for non-permanent records and to assist a department in deciding how long to keep permanent records in the department before sending them to the archives. 

As high-level assessment tools, record surveys support a framework for managing records. They identify the various records categories created, processed, or received by the organization or a department within a larger organization. The purpose of the survey is to determine records categories users create, receive, process, or maintain in their operational or project-based work. With the knowledge gained from the survey in mind, organizations can make intelligent decisions about their records and preserve their institutional memory and wisdom. 

The blog was originally published on Lucidea's blog. 

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