PGI-86/WS/12 Electronic records management and archives in international organizations: a R A MP study with guidelines General Information Programme and UNISIST United Nations Educational, Paris, 1986 Scientific and Cultural Organization Original: English PGI-86/WS/12 Paris, January 1986 ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND ARCHIVES IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: A RAMP STUDY WITH GUIDELINES prepared by Charles M¿ Dollar General Information Programme and UNISIST Photographic reproduction United Nations Education, Scientific and of original manuscript Cultural Organization Recommended catalogue entry : Dollar, Charles M. Electronic records management and archives in international organizations: à RAMP study with guidelines / prepared by Charles M. Dollar / for the / General Information Programme and UNISIST. - Paris: Unesco, 1986. - 159 p.; 3 0 cm. - (PGI-86/WS/Í2) I - Title II - Unesco^General Information Programme and UNISIST III - Records and Archives Management Programme (RAMP) Unesco, 1986 PREFACE In order to assist in meeting the needs of Member States, particularly developing countries, in the specialized areas of archives administration and records management, the Division of the General Information Programme has developed a long-term Records and Archives Management Programme - RAMP The basic elements of RAMP reflect and contribute to the overall themes of the General Information Programme. RAMP thus includes projects, studies and other activities intended to : - develop standards, rules, methods and other normative tools for the processing and transfer of specialized information and the creation of compatible information systems; - enable developing countries to set up their own data bases and to have access to those now in existence throughout the world, so as to increase the exchange and flow of information through the application of modern technologies; - promote the development of specialized regional information networks; - contribute to the harmonious development of compatible interna tional information services and systems; - set up national information systems and improve the various components of these systems; - formulate development policies and plans in this field; - train information specialists and users and develop the national and regional potential for education and training in the infor mation sciences, library science and archives administration. This study is a review of trends in information-handling technology and significant developments which are changing or will change the general environment within which archivists and records managers in international organizations will have to work. It is also a review of a number of pilot research projects and operational programmes which are underway. It provides recommend ations for action at different levels and includes a glossary, a selective bibliography and a detailed questionnaire for identifying problems in using information technology for records management and archives in international organizations. It is hoped that this study with the guidelines will give specialists the possibility to better understand the situation and will help them to deal with the difficulties and find appropriate solutions. Comments and suggestions regarding this study are welcomed and should be addressed to the Division of the General Information Programme, UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris. Other studies prepared under the RAMP programme may also be obtained at, the same address. TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One Trends in Information Technology 1.1 Overview 1.2 Microelectrics 1.3 Storage 1.4 Software 1.5 Data Transmission 1.6 New Computer Architecture 1.7 Data Entry 1.8 Non-Digital Storage 1.9 Summary Chapter Two Electronic Technology Applications 2.1 Overview 2.2 Office Automation 2.3 Electronic Mail 2.4 Data Exchange 2.5 Optical Disk 2.6 Computer Assisted Retrieval of Microfilm 2.7 Artificial Intelligence Chapter Three Implications and Opportunities 3.1 Overview 3.2 Rethinking Records Management 3.3 Opportunities 3.4 Working with Decision Makers i Chapter Four Survey Results of International Organizations 98 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Questionnaire Design 4.3 General Comments 4.4 Records Management Responsibilities 4.5 Extent of Automation 4.6 Automated Central Registry 4.7 Automated Correspondence Tracking System 4.8 Electronic Messaging Systems 4.9 Summary Chapter Five Recommendations and Guidelines 115 5.1 Section of Archives of International Organizations 5.2 Archivists and Records Managers 5.3 Summary Annex 1 Glossary 125 Annex 2 Evaluation Criteria 132 Annex 3 Questionnaire 136 Annex 4 Sources 157 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although this study draws upon my own experience and knowledge about new information handling technologies and their impact upon records management and archives, a number of people made my task much easier. Ms. Gertrude Long, Chairman of the Section of Archivists of International Organizations (SIO) of the Interna tional Council on Archives and Archivist of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., was very generous with her time in reviewing with me some of the trends and developments in interational organizations. In addition, she and Dr. Frank B. Evans of the National Archives and Records Administration, read the study in draft form and called my attention to errors and misinterpretations. I am indebted to Dr. Thomes E. Brown of the National Archives and Records Administration for his invalu able assistance in helping design the questionnaire, preparing a preliminary analysis of the survey data, and reading the study in draft form. My colleague on the Archival Research and Evalua tion Staff, Mr. William Hooton, prepared the illustrations used in chapter one and read the manuscript with an eye for technical inaccuracies. iii Other people who contributed to the study were those archivists and records managers who responded to the questionnaire as well as the individuals who permitted me to interview them. In addition, attendees at the 1985 SIO Annual Meeting in Paris, France reviewed the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. The assistance of Stan J. Cieniewicz, Registrar at the United Nations Disaster Relief Organization, in Geneva made my work there much easier and my visit very pleasant. The assistance of all of these people greatly strengthend the study. Nevertheless, any error of fact or misinterpretation remains the responsibility of the author. Charles M.Dollar iv INTRODUCTION 0.1 The key concept in this study is that an understanding of the implications of electronic technology for archivists and records managers in international organizations involves both an examination of the technology itself and the environment in which that technology will function. The implications of electronic technology, or what is defined as the supply side, includes the technology of computers, software, communications, informa tion sévices, databases, printers, and memory devices, among others. Certainly this aspect requires major attention, since technological capabilities help structure what can be accom plished. The demand side of information technology is the organizational environment - individual productivity enhancement, centralization versus decentralization of management, organiza tional structure of institutions operating in a network, and the like. 0.2 This demand side of information technology has serious long range implications for archivists and records managers in international organizations, in that it may increase the distance that separates them from the information for which they are responsible. This distancing may include information technology decisionmaking which can have a profound, though indirect, 1 impact upon archival and record management programs. For example, a decision to install a new telecommunications capa bility, which includes an electronic mail and message system, introduces a new set of archival and records management concerns which may not be apparent to the decisionmakers. Not having a voice in information technology decisionmaking inevitably means that archivists and records managers are likely to have very little influence in the shaping of information technology policy. 0.3 This rather bleak picture in which archivists and records managers in international orgnizations (as well as in other organizations) may find themselves in an environment where they are the passive recipients of information derived from processes over which they have little influence or control need not be the scenario of the future. Indeed, this study along with its recommendations is premised on the expectation that archivists and records managers in international organizations can (and should) become involved in the shaping of information technology policy and decisionmaking. 0.4 The first chapter of this study focuses upon a detailed examination of information technology as it relates to trends in microelectronics, software, storage, data transmission, new computer architecture, text conversion, and computer-based micrographics systems. Chapter two elaborates on some of these trends, with a review of a number of pilot research projects or 2