1. Nuts and Bolts of Museum Records Management:
A Practical Workshop on Getting Started for Museum Professionals

2. Introductions and programme
- who you (trainer) are
workshop aims
who you (staff) are
what staff expect from today
housekeeping
- These are the basic tools to get you started – establishing an rm programme in your museum
- Workshop is very interactive; we have a script but we want to answer your questions
Activities are designed to give you a practical outcome – you will come away with the bare bones of some key records management tools and an idea of how to go back and flesh them out into policies and procedures
- Can you each introduce yourselves in turn and tell us what you expect to get out of the workshop
Housekeeping: fire alarm, loos

3. Session 1: What is a record?
A record is something that:
provides evidence of a transaction, activity, decision or event.
may need to be proven or referenced over the medium or long term.
can exist in any format - including paper; electronic; microfilm; magnetic and optical media; photographs, slides, and other images
(Examples include: word processed documents, text messages, s, digital CCTV footage; audio and video tape, CD, DVD.)
Use examples to explain each point

4. Session 1: What is a record?
All of this means that records are:
An important corporate asset
The organisation’s documentary heritage
They are a corporate asset just like the object collections; in fact; many object collections would be worthless without the records that provide evidence of provenance, etc
The history of your organisation is just as important as the objects it holds and your records are its history

5. Session 1: What is Records Management?
RM is:
a set of tools and guidelines that ensure we know:
what records we have
where they are located
how to protect them
how long to keep them
if/when to dispose of them

6. Session 1: What is Records Management?
Put succinctly, RM is all about:
the right person being able to find
the right record at
the right time with
the least amount of effort.

7. Session 1: What is a records series?
A record series is:
a group of related records which are normally used and filed as a unit
Examples include:
- annual reports - accession registers
- press cuttings - events booking forms
- Personnel recruitment files
- Board of Directors meeting minutes
- A series is specific - eg, not just ‘press’ but ‘press cuttings’ etc

8. Activity 1: Museum Records Series
In small groups:
Make a list of 8 different types of museum records series. Make sure that you qualify your series according to whether it comprises files, reports, minutes etc.

9. Session 1: Museum Records
The museum creates two main types of records – those that are specific to museum activities and those that are carried out by every organisation:
Specific to museums:
Generic:
Loans out files
Payroll records in a database
Visitor services feedback forms
Health and safety reports
Accession registers
Events records case files
Object files
Building plans
Exhibition lenders files
Staff files
‘Generic’ records are those that document activities that take place across many different types or organisations, including but not limited to museums.

10. Activity 2: Museum specific versus Common-to-all record series
Whole group activity:
Arrange the record series you identified earlier into the two groups: museum specific & common–to-all-organisations record series.

11. Session 2: What is the point of records management?
Value of records:
- administrative or evidential
- historical/research
- financial and legal
Benefits:
- efficiency
- cost savings
- audit trails
- corporate memory (staff transitions; reinventing the wheel)
- compliance with legislative requirements
- protect/enhance reputation
REMEMBER:
Records are the museum’s documentary heritage and an important corporate asset
Ask people what types of values there are, then explain:
1. Admin – what you need to do your work; what your colleagues might need if you are away; what your colleagues might need to access if you delegate tasks – in essence, admin value is informational
2. Historic and research – long term value - become archival in nature; even business archives of museums are used by academics, genealogists/family historians, the museum itself (use spoliation to exemplify use of early admin, object and fin records to prove ownership)
3. Legal – comply with financial regulations, HR, H&S, FoI, DPA (after the next activity we will discuss key legislation in more detail)
Benefits – 1. efficient - don’t rely on individual ways of organising information; 2. save time and money looking for, recreating or storing duplicate info; 3. audit trail makes org accountable and transparent; manage risk by knowing what info is held where and by whom and in the understanding that a full record is kept; 4. corporate memory (staff transitions/re-inventing the wheel); 5. compliance with legislation (hard to prove with out records as evidence of transactions); 6. protect/enhance reputation – the better your rm, the better your services

12. Session 2: Freedom of Information Act 2000
Freedom of Information Act (FOI) gives the public the right to access information held by any public authority, including museums (subject to a number of exemptions); we have 20 working days to respond to written requests
the government recommends that organisations put a records management programme in place in order to comply with FoI
- requests don’t have to state that they are FoI requests; ANY written requests ( or letter) falls under FoI
- the Information Commissioner’s Office has recommended that public authorities put a records management programme into place in order to best comply with FoI – this is the Section 46 Code of Practice (see handout) - so, it’s good practice and it’s in your best interests to do; not only will you be able to put your hands on info when it is requested by the public, you may also be asked why you didn’t if you can’t produce what is held to be a public record – the tools of rm (file plan and retention schedules esp) are evidence of your compliance and show willing to carry out your legal responsibilities (no, it’s not required – yet); links to the ICO are in your handout
-Even if you’re not required to comply with FoI, it’s good practice for everyone to do so – people are now used to the idea that museums are transparent and tend to assume you are a public authority
Again, records management in relation to FoI, just makes it easier to find what people ask you for and makes you look good and feel good when you can deliver

13. Session 2: Data Protection Act 1998
the Data Protection Act (DPA) applies to all museums (both public authorities and private trusts), and directs the handling of personal information about living individuals, including names, private addresses, dates of birth and contact details – you have 40 calendar days to respond to requests
security CCTV footage is also covered by the DPA and should be viewed by as few people as possible according to a documented policy
this applies to all museums, whether local council, a private trust, a national museum or other heritage organisation
Under DPA we can’t keep personal data for any longer than it is required and it can only be used for the purpose for which it was collected (no re-purposing or selling/giving it on to other orgs)
- good rm practice allows you to flag and organise the info that falls under DPA; you can audit for compliance and manage the related risks – how many people in your org collect personal data, how long do they keep it, in what form, do they have guidance on how to keep it?
- CCTV is a particular concern for museums, as are photos taken of people at your events (get release forms or ensure people understand they may be photographed for specific purposes), etc.
Also have a CCTV policy and a statement about its use that is visible
Museum areas that hold personal data include learning/education, development, security, volunteer records as well as generic functions such as hr and finance; exhibitions and loans files often contain personal data about individual lenders; curatorial and object files also contain personal data about private owners of objects – so you need to be careful about how your make those records accessible to staff and outside researchers – there are some exemptions for historical files- see more in the handout

14. Session 2: Public Records Act 1958, 1967
duty of care for records of historical value that document the organisation’s history
to keep them and make them accessible over the long term (beyond the life of the organisation)
TNA does police this and museums that fall short can be penalised (although TNA is more helpful than not)
- (applies to national museums that are designated non-departmental government bodies)
- departments of HM government must maintain inventories of their electronic and other records, and subject the records to disposal schedules based on the administrative and permanent value of the websites

15. Session 2: Limitation Act 1980
Evidence of most financial and contractual transactions should be retained for a period of at least six years
Governs individuals and organisations
Applies to things like loans, facilities and capital projects
- This is where the ‘7 years’ rule comes from; it pertains to the current year plus 6 years after the record is no longer current
- you’ll see this act show up again when we talk about retention schedules

16. Activity 3: Legal requirements
Look at the records series on the ‘post-it’ notes and decide which piece/s of legislation apply – write the abbreviated name of the legislation on each post-it note
In your groups…10 mins to decide then we’ll discuss REMEMBER – only public institutions are subject to FOI, but all organisations fall under DPA, the Limitations Act etc.

17. Session 3: Records Management policy and file plan
Records management plan that takes into account other related initiatives (eg shared drive clean ups, planning for storage space)
Records management procedures (file plan, retention schedules)
Your records management policy allows you to own the activity and to get senior management buy-in (for some of you this will be at Board level, for others, senior staff). The policy should include responsibilities, relationship with other policies and/or core functions of the museum, reference guidance materials and specify to whom queries should come. It should also define what is meant by records management and any other key terms that may not be familiar to the broader organisation.
Getting your rm policy signed-off it critical to taking records management forward. It is the first step towards recognition of the importance of the work involved.
It doesn’t have to be long or involved; in fact, it should be simple and brief, but it must exist. We will take a closer look at policies in the next activity but first I want to briefly mention the tools that closely follow on the policy:
Once you have a policy in place, you need to work according to a plan. This allows you to prioritise activities and prevents you from taking on too much at one time. Some of you may even need to present the plan to senior management in order to get your policy in place, so it’s good to think about the components of a plan in advance: timeframe, where you are piloting the programme if you are piloting, how it impacts or interacts with other initiatives at the museum and what outcomes you expect (savings, benefit to specific project etc).
The records management policy and plan will allow you to phase in a file plan and records retention schedule. Charlotte will talk about the schedule in the next session and I will come back to the file plan after the next activity.

18. Activity 4: Policy
In groups, discuss how the sample records management policy would work in our museum; then share your comments with the larger group.
Discuss what you like/dislike about the policy; then share with the larger group.

19. Session 3: File Plan
key tool for organising records; should be consistent across paper and electronic files
allow us to group similar types of information
based on business functions and activities, making it easier to find records
As consistent as possible across paper and electronic files (sometimes it grows out of the way files are named and stored on shared drives)
It is based on business function and activities rather than the names of offices or individuals so that when these change over time, we can still recognise the types of records
Functions are distinct from the organisation's formal structure because they can be expected to continue for the life of the museum, as opposed to the administrative structure, which can change frequently over time
It’s very difficult to impose a file plan on staff – it should grow out of discussions with them on the way they currently organise their records and why – when you consult with them, it’s often easy to get rid of ‘dead wood’ that is – folders that everyone agrees don’t make sense or get in the way when they try to find documents – and this way you are agreeing the file plan while it’s developing
- this is also the time to introduce naming conventions for paper and electronic documents to ensure consistency
If you have a good relationship with the IT officer who is responsible for folder structures and this will help - you should take a look at current structures together and discuss what works, what doesn’t and why – then schedule chats with selected staff along the same lines – when can they find documents in other people’s folders, what works and why? What do they have trouble finding? Although you may end up doing a certain amount of retrospective clean up, this can be helpful and staff will be grateful that you are doing it! (Result = a quick win that will give your project good will)
So what does a file plan look like? Here’s a sample one.

20. Activity 5: File Plan
1. In your small groups, identify seven activities that encompass everything your museum does.
2. Discuss these file categories with the larger group.
3. Return to your groups and map your records series from Activity 1 to your file categories
Now that you have a file plan, we will look at the records retention schedule after the break

21. Session 4: Records Lifecycle
Active
(create and use)
Inactive
(no longer used on a regular basis)
Disposal Archive
(when no longer needed for (identify as having
administrative, legal or permanent value so financial reasons) transfer to archive)
Active records are the ones you create and use every day.
Inactive records are no longer used regularly, but you may still need to reference them infrequently and/or keep them for legal reasons.
Final stages of the record’s ‘lifecycle’ are either Disposal (destruction) or transfer to the museum archive for permanent retention.

22. Session 4: Retention Schedule
A Retention Schedule is a control document that:
identifies all the record series created by an institution
sets out how each should be managed throughout its ‘lifecycle’
Retention decisions should be determined by:
business requirements; statute, legal or regulatory compliance.
Your business requirements are how long you and your staff need a record in order to carry out your work.
You may need to research statute, legal or regulatory retention periods, but the National Archives and the Information Commissioner’s Office gives us a lot of guidance on this, so we don’t need to re-invent the wheel.

23. Session 4: Retention Schedule
A more detailed retention schedule may also contain information about:
the reason for retention (eg. legislative requirements)
location of the records - where they will be kept at each stage of their lifecycle
responsibilities – who will be responsible for managing the record at each stage of the lifecycle.

24. Session 4: Sample Retention Schedule
May look something like this:
RECORD TYPE
RETENTION PERIOD
ACTION
AUTHORITY
Governance – trustees minutes
Permanent (signed originals only)
Transfer to Archives after 5 years
Companies Act 1985 and 1989; business requirement
Health & Safety - Accident forms/reports
Current year + 6 years
Destroy
Health & Safety Act 1974
Communications –Enquiries from the public
Current +
2 years
Data Protection Act, business requirement
Registration – Loan out files
Permanent
Transfer to Archives on return of loan
Limitation Act 1980, business requirement

25. Session 4: How long should we keep records?
Retain all records indefinitely
Destroy records on an ad hoc basis (usually when file drawers are full or when staff move on)
Follow an approved fit-for purpose file plan and retention schedule

26. Activity 6: Retention Policy
In your groups, choose 2 records series and discuss what retention periods would work for them. Keep in mind:
How long do you need the records in the series to carry out work?
How long would you need the records for infrequent reference?
Do the records have research or other archival value? If not, should they be disposed?
What legal retention requirements might there be?
Then share your sample schedule with the larger group.

27. Session 4: Your records management programme
Sustainable – based on agreed policy, provides procedures and support
Linked to ISO standard (15489), which makes the MDA/CollectionsTrust happy  and will integrate with SPECTRUM in the future

28. Contact details: [your local contact details] or
Samira Teuteberg, London Museums Hub Records Management Advisor on: or