The No-nonsense Guide to Archives and Recordkeeping

Book excerpt: This practical how-to-do-it guide is ideal for professionals involved in the management of archives and records, especially if they are just starting out or without formal training. The book covers all aspects of recordkeeping and archives management. It follows the records’ journey from creation, through the application of classification and access techniques, evaluation for business, legal and historical value and finally to destruction or preservation and access in the archive. Based on the internationally renowned training days run by the author and her business partner, The No-nonsense Guide to Archives and Recordkeeping deals with records and archives in all formats. It utilizes checklists, practical exercises, sample documentation, case studies and helpful diagrams to ensure a very accessible and pragmatic approach, allowing anyone to get to grips with the basics quickly. The book is divided into four main work areas: - current records: including creation, filing, classification and security - records management: including aims, risks, planning, preparation and delivery - archives management: including collecting policies, intellectual property rights, appraisal, digitization and outreach - archival preservation: including policy, disaster prevention and repositories. This one-stop-shop will be essential for a wide readership including archives and records assistants, librarians, information managers and IT professionals responsible for archives and records and managers of archives staff.