Standards Watch

Management System for Records

Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO, has brought to our attention a clutch of announcements on new ISO activities. The first two of these involve (1) an ISO Committee Draft of a TC46/SC11 New work item: Management system for records – Fundamentals and vocabulary and (2) : Information and documentation – Management system for records – Requirements.

Information provided about this activity by NISO:

(1) “This is a proposal to initiate a new project within TC46/SC11 (Archives/Records Management) to develop a standard for Information and documentation – Management system for records – Fundamentals and vocabulary. This standard will describe fundamentals of a management system for records and define related terms. This standard is needed to form the basis of the “family” of management system for records standards by presenting the structure of the standards family and relationship to other management system standards.”
(2) “This standard will specify business requirements for a management system for records to enable an organization to fulfill its mandate, mission, strategy, and goals through the development and implementation of a records policy and objectives and the measurement and monitoring of performance. A records policy and objectives enable organizations to create and maintain records as evidence and information of their activities for as long as they are needed. This standard is needed to provide a basis for a “family” of records management standards as part of an overall management standards system (MSS).”

If you have an interest in either or both parts of this work, please let Cindy know by April 14, 2009. Your vote options are: Yes (approve the new project), No (do not approve the project), and Abstain (from the vote). Comments are required for No and Abstain votes. If you vote Yes, please indicate, in the comments, any recommendation you may have for a U.S. expert to work on the standard’s development and provide contact information for the individual (an email and/or phone number at a minimum).

The draft of the proposal is available to ALA members by applying directly to Cindy (HSLcindy@buffalo.edu) and confirming your ALA membership. If you can, please copy me (metadata.maven@gmail.com) on your request.

Diane I. Hillmann
LITA Standards Coordinator