Management is not a Natural Act Megan Winget - Co-Project Manager Managing the Digital University Desktop: Introduction and Preliminary Findings

As Record = considered “insignificant” mode of communication Appropriate user decisions

The “insignificant” nature of either their or their job… “I don't think that I produce the kinds of documents that are legally of interest, it's not like I am discovering DNA or anything, [it’s] not of potential relevance to a broad enough spectrum of people to be worth it” [Sociology Faculty member] “[ is] the equivalent of the pink "while you were out" notes” “No, [archivists] have better things to do with their time” “There are a lot more interesting things happening at the university” “I don't think of [ s] as permanent documents” “It's not as though I transfer deep thoughts via .”

Important s Printed / Stored Somewhere Else “Things that are truly important typically have a hard copy somewhere that gets routed through records retention.” “I’d like to believe that everything that we have this is important we have in paper files.” “Whatever I think of as permanent I would print out, I’ve never considered to be archival.”

Technical / Monetary / Archival Challenges “It doesn’t seem like it’s worth spending resources to save that sort of stuff forever.” “My instincts say no…and that’s simply out of a belief about the relationship of that information to me. It’s all about context and what’s relevant at the moment.” “You could kind of say that anyone would want to save anything, but someone would have to write out a history of it.” “I just see that as an insurmountable amount of data.”

Should Be Saved… Historical Purposes: “That would be an interesting thing to look at 1000 years from now;” Legal Purposes: medical, student, administrative records Institutional Memory: “After I leave, someone will have to know how I did things.”

Storage, Organization & Management 1. Reliable Storage and Retrieval Mechanisms 2. Comprehensible Organization Schemas 3. Metadata to Provide Context

Reliable Storage (digital preservation) “the practice of storing messages with long-term value on machine readable media such as CD-ROM, 3480 tape, or digital linear tape presumes that the hardware and software required to read the data will exist into the future.” Reserves the right to “accept into the State Archives stored only on those media it has the ability to read” and that it might “delegate the responsibility of long term maintenance and preservation to the creating agency.”

Comprehensible Organization Schemas The messages must be organized in a system, so that one may determine the general topic to which the messages relate.

No Folders People 25% have over 3000 messages in their inbox, 25% have between 200 and 1000 messages 50% have fewer than 20 Tend to be most satisfied, None of them reported problems finding an older Not compliant with state guidelines.

Context / Metadata For those messages that have “permanent, archival value…” Messages transferred to the Division must have metadata concerning the and its related electronic records recorded on the Division’s electronic records inventory form.

Attachments

User Knowledge “Users of must understand the ways in which has changed workflow and business practices in recent years.” These users, “as well as information technology (IT) professionals who will be asked to preserve [ ] over time, must receive training regarding issues outlined in these guidelines.”