TEXT B. Filing Systems and Records Storage

Task: scan the text to find the answers to the questions that follow.

As information is received and as records are generated internally within an organization there must be a mechanism for handling them. For the records to be grouped together however it implies that there is a filing system (manual or automated) which facilitates this grouping together. A filing system must be used to facilitate the government process. It must enable information to be rapidly processed and distributed to those who must see it. The files must be meaningful and accurate. In Government, decision makers rely on being able to receive information with ease and timeously so that they can respond to the issues and so that decisions can be made.

Once the information has been processed, distributed and used, it must be stored for future use. The information is stored on the premise that it is still needed and it is in this respect that serious problems can arise.

A basic principle of records management is that information should be distinguished and separated as it moves through three distinct phases of its life cycle. At its creation and through its active usage, the records are said to be current. As their rate of usage declines from the frequent to the infrequent, they move on to the semi-current phase and from there on to the non-current stage. In the latter stage a decision has to be made as to whether or not the records should be disposed of. A mistake is often made by equating non-current records to archives because the two are definitely not equal.

The various stages of the life cycle of records should also be distinguished by differences in where the records are to be found. During the current stage the records are kept in the office or registry where they can be accessed with ease as required. As the records become semi-current they should be retired from the office and registry into some storage area such as the storeroom or the strongroom within the premises of the creating agency and from there they are then transferred to a records centre.

1. Why do we need filing systems? 2. What is the basic principle of records management? 3. What are three distinct phases of the life cycle of records? 4. What mistake is often made speaking about archives and records? 5. In what way can we decide at what point to retire records from the office or registry to the storeroom or strongroom?

Не нашли, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском: