Records & Information Update
June 2020
In this issue:
- A New Name & Email!
- Ways to Get in Touch
- Scanning & Destroying Hard Copy
- Dispelling the Myths of Records Disposal
- Records Management Network
- Upcoming training - last chance today to enrol for our June Records Managed SharePoint training!
- Share and catch up on the news!
1. A New Name & Email
As of June 1, Records Services have had a change of name to Records & Information. Our new primary email address is now records-info@unimelb.edu.au
Never fear – no enquiries will be missed, as we will continue to receive any enquiries sent through to our former address.
2. Ways to get in touch with us
If you can't find the answers to your questions on our website the records team would be happy to assist you.
We can be contacted via records-info@unimelb.edu.au or you can simply raise a ServiceNow Request
3. Scanning and destroying hard-copy records
There are many reasons to scan or digitise hard-copy records; from reclaiming valuable space by removing boxes of paper, or, by simply saving you time in retrieving information, not having to look through mountains of paper to find what you are after. It is, however, important to ensure that a scanned copy has the same evidential value as the original hard copy, so that we are still fulfilling our recordkeeping obligations. There are a few questions to consider:
1. Do the records fall under Normal Administrative Practice (NAP) - duplicates, drafts, working notes - and can disposed of without issue?
2. Is there an existing Digitisation Plan that would cover your records, or would it be useful to create one for your team, ensuring that scanned copies have the evidential value as the hard copy originals?
3. Are the hard copy records still regularly accessed, or could they be transferred into the custody of Records Services, to be managed on your behalf for as long as is required?
For further advice please contact Records & Information
4. MYTH BUSTING - Dispelling the myths of Records Disposal
MYTH 1: Disposal means destruction.
False. Disposal does not just mean destruction. From a records perspective, disposal may mean destruction of records only when it is permitted. It may also mean the disposal of permanent records when transferred to archives or the disposal of temporary records when placed in a local holding area until they are due for destruction.
MYTH 2. All records should be kept for 7 years
False. This statement assumes that there is magic number of years for all records. Not all records need to be kept for 7 years. The amount of time that a record should be kept depends very much on what type of record it is. Reference should be made to the University Records and Disposal Authority to determine the retention period
MYTH 3: If you have old records you can get rid of them
False. The underlining assumption in this statement is that if a record is of a certain age, they are no longer relevant to today’s priorities. There may be a business imperative to keep an old record for example, it is evidence of a precedent or is evidence on how a unit was established. There may be other reasons why we keep old records. Sometimes old records are also kept for their historical and or cultural significance.
The University of Melbourne Retention and Disposal Authority is a document which outlines retention periods for university records. The most recent authority was approved in 2019. A searchable online database is available
5. Records Management Network: Next meeting
The next Records Management Network date is yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, let us know what you would like to hear about: records-info@unimelb.edu.au
Our next network meeting will, of course, be hosted virtually!
6. Upcoming Training
For the duration of the University’s status as a ‘virtual campus’, training in Records Managed SharePoint & Content Manager will be hosted over Zoom.
Records Managed SharePoint Next sessions: Monday, June 22nd – 10am to 11am (enrol by COB today!), or, Tuesday, July 23rd – 1pm to 2pm
Content Manager Next session: Tuesday, July 14th – 10am to 12:30pm.
7. Share and catch up on the news!
You can find previous editions of the Records Services Update on our website. And if you think your colleagues would get something out of them, please do forward this email on!
If you've got any feedback or anything you'd like to know, please drop us a line.
