Managing Physical Records in SharePoint 2010

It is sometimes said by records managers that one of the drawbacks of SharePoint 2010 (and SharePoint 2013) is that it doesn't manage physical records, or at least not very well. This article describes how to manage physical records in SharePoint 2010/2013 using a list that includes barcodes. Up front and out of the box, …

Implementing SharePoint 2010 as a Document and Records Management System

There are several things that are worth asking or considering as a records manager (or equivalent) in a company that is using, or plans to use, SharePoint 2010. This can significantly affect how things occur. Governance If your organisation uses SharePoint there is a good chance you will have a qualified SharePoint Administrator in the …

Applying recordkeeping policies to email – Microsoft Messaging Records Management (MRM)

The problem The problem of managing emails as records is summed up in the following statements: “Many organizations have yet to define an email retention policy. More than one‐quarter of organizations have not yet established any sort of email retention policy despite the fact that there are a growing body of statutory requirements and legal obligations …

What records managers need to know about Sharepoint 2010

The following is a revised version of an article that appeared in the July 2011 edition of Informaa Quarterly, IQ, the quarterly journal of the Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia (RIMPA). Sharepoint 2010, is starting to be used by more and more organisations. And it is being used to create and manage records. The following …

A Semantic Office

The basic concepts and theory behind the idea of a 'semantic web' are already available in XML-based documents produced in Word 2007 and Open Office. This has potential implications for the way records could be managed within organisations, leading to the possibility of a 'semantic office'.

Integrity

Integrity is a key element in recordkeeping.  According to AS ISO 15489, integrity of documents means that they are complete and unaltered. These words mirror s.11(3) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW) which notes that the integrity of information contained in a document is maintained if, and only if, the information has remained complete …

Processes, machines and devices

s.146 of the Evidence Act notes that: Where a document or thing is produced wholly or partly by a device or process, AND the device or process is one that, or is of a kind that, if properly used, ordinarily produces that outcome, THEN it is presumed (unless evidence sufficient to raise doubt about the …

The balance of probabilities

s. 142 (Admissibility of evidence: standard of proof) of the Evidence Act 2005 (NSW) notes that evidence will be usually admitted if the Court is satisfied that the facts have been proved on the balance of probabilities.  The matters that the court must take into account include (summarised - see legislation for full version): (a) …

The need for authenticity

In NAB v Rusu, Justice Bryson said that: At its simplest, the authenticity of a document may be proved by the evidence of the person who made it or one of the persons who made it, or a person who was present when it was made, or in the case of a business record, a …

Admissibility

Justice Bryon commented on the admitting in evidence of documents in NAB v Rusu.  He said that: Documents are not ordinarily taken to prove themselves … Before a business record or any other document is admitted in evidence it is obviously necessary that there should be an evidentiary basis for finding that it is what …