TIPS FOR MANAGING YOUR INFORMATION:

SOME “INCONVENIENT TRUTHS!”

“Our collective capacity to create and disseminate information is in danger of outstripping our ability to manage it.”

(www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/records management/guide for administrators)

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MANAGING YOUR INFORMATION:AN INTRODUCTION

• The problem spaces:

- desktop (paper and electronic)

- email

- shared network drives

- collaborative spaces & sharing files

 INDIVIDUAL WORKSPAC

E

 GROUP

WORKSPACE

ORGANIZATIONWORKSPACE

 

Problem areas, causes and some solutions

• Creating information

• Version control

• Email management

• Disposing of information

• Preserving information

Legislation

Universities in Ontario come under provincial legislation.

Federal legislation covers federal government bodies and commercial enterprises.

• Provincial legislation:- Freedom of Information, Protection of Privacy- or FIPPA

• Federal legislation:- Personal Information Protection, &

Electronic Documents Act - or PIPEDA

Whose information is it?

• University records- created as part of the business activities of the university

- “means any record of information however recorded, whether in printed form, on film, by electronic means or

otherwise …”

• Personal • Professional/creative, research• Grey areas

- personal agenda books

- teaching materials/curriculum

- emails

Queen’s University Records Management Program

• QU Records Management Policy http://archives.queensu.ca/rm/RMPolicy.htmlhttp://archives.queensu.ca/rm/RMPolicy.html

• QU Records Management program:

http://archives.queensu.ca/rm/ManagingUR.html

CREATING INFORMATION

• Lost information is not only inconvenient, but is a huge waste of time and resources.

• Losing information containing personal details of an individual is not compliant with the law.

• Use good file names: objective, meaningful, concise, standardized

• Scanning and indexing (the “paperless office”)

• Electronic records management systems

VERSION CONTROL

• Issued or draft - “I” or “D”

• Time specific

• Point (not attach)

• Watermarks

DANGERS OF EMAIL

- Mixed messages

- Emails are disclosable

- Evidence of decisions and actions lost

- Sensitive information disclosure

- Lack of privacy

MANAGING EMAIL - 2

• Manage your inbox• File core business records• Short term informal messages – keep current only• Personal email – delete once read.• Limit main recipients• Use cc for “information only”• One topic only per email• Be specific in subject lines• Do not include original text when replying

DISPOSING OF INFORMATION

• DON’T KEEP MORE THAN YOU NEED• Office of primary responsibility• Ask records management or archives staff for advice

on the value• How long should it be kept• Records retention schedules – safeguards• Secure disposal of paper records• Secure disposal of electronic records

PRESERVING INFORMATION

• Paper – the deluge and the ark

• Digital dilemma - technology changes, how to keep the records

• What is “born digital” and why is it important?

SECURITY ISSUES

• Due diligence

• Smart practices

• Mobile technologies

• Faxes

• Encryption

PRIVACY – RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collective Agreement – Article 23

• Academic Freedom

• Surveillance in the workplace

• QU Access & Privacy Office

SOME TYPES OF RECORDS

• Information excluded from FIPPA

• Research records excluded from the Act

• Teaching materials excluded from the Act

• Employment related records excluded from the Act

• Your own personal information in records held by the University

BIBLIOGRAPHY