The world of archives and records management can be a little difficult to understand and are often confused by members of the public. In reality, the two services are subtly, but significantly, different in what they do and how they do it (basically the difference between ‘active’ and ‘permanently inactive’ records). In this guest blog, we have asked the Records Management team to explain a little bit more about who they are and what they do…
—
Records Management is an internal facing service, focused on maintaining, organising and delivering information throughout its lifecycle. At Dorset Council, the Records Management team has been working on a programme to update and reinvent the management and organisation of its records following the 2019 local government reorganisation, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. This programme consists of individual projects which have been curated to suit the department’s needs and advance our service.
The projects can loosely be divided into two halves: one half focusing on physical files and their organisation and retainment, while the other focuses on change and the future of records management at Dorset Council. The first portion of projects have been designed to make files more accessible, as well as improve our descriptions of records and manage our repository space in accordance with the law (we legally cannot keep records for longer than necessary, for instance). This aspect of the programme has been live since July 2021 and has since gained momentum with new staff hired to begin transferring files into the main repository.
The second half of the programme is concerned with making the Records Management Service fit for the future. One aspect of this is investigating the management of digital records, which most, if not all, services now use. Through this project we hope to transform the way we work and operate digitally. Alongside this, research is being carried out into information and record keeping cultures. How to manage records is not a standardised field; other councils may work differently to us, but by comparing ourselves to and speaking with other Records Management departments, we can see what progress needs to be made, as well as how other councils have dealt with similar issues that we have. One core question is how other departments use and see records management, and how we can work together with services to keep good quality evidence of what they do.
Overall, this programme is designed to renew and revamp the way Records Management works at Dorset Council. We have made steady progress in our workstreams, having completed projects such as quality checking scans of Children’s records and decommissioning old legacy databases. With numerous other projects currently being worked upon, we hope to be in a stronger and more sustainable position this time next year.
—
The Records Management team are now looking to hire a new member of staff to join the team.
The successful candidate will make sure our valuable records are easily accessible when needed, playing a part in ensuring they are preserved and protected to support the decisions of the future. In addition to this, we will help you to develop your professional skills through a tailored learning programme.
It’s a great time to join our small team on our journey as we expand to new internal customers and you will help to build and maintain relationships with colleagues from a wide range of council services.
Initially, the role is focused on physical records management services from our main site in County Hall, Dorchester. We recognise that the future of records management is digital and we will provide training and support your continuing professional development in this role. The team sits in a wider Customer Services, Libraries, and Archives and Records service and you will have opportunity to work with and learn from these colleagues.
The 3-year Level 7 Archivist and Record Manager apprenticeship will be launched in October 2023. You will form part of the first cohort and will be supported to enrol onto this. You will be given 20% off the job time to focus and complete your apprenticeship. This is a fantastic (Masters-level) development opportunity and achieving this apprenticeship will open further career avenues in archives and records management.
You can learn more, and make your application here.
Applications close on 25 June 2023, at 11pm.
—
If you have any questions about Records Management, or would like to know more, please leave a comment below!