Comparing the Records Life Cycle and the Continuum Models of Records Mangement
Assignment 1
Q. Compare and Contrast the Records life Cycle and the Records Continuum Models of Records management.
The Records Lifecycle and the Continuum Model of Records are similar, they both pass through the current stage, semi current stage and they are both archived. However the Continuum Model differs from the Records Lifecycle in a number of ways including its continuous life, the origins of the model, integrated roles of records and archival form, records and elements of records definition, major concerns in records management, records movement patterns, recordkeeping perspectives, recordkeeping process, criteria for selecting archives, time of appraisal, role of recordkeeping managers and lastly undertaking records management tasks.
This essay defines the continuum and the life-cycle concepts. It explains what the continuum concept is all about. The life-cycle had been explained as concept which gives a sense of order among a host of its advantages in records management. The lifecycle is a concept that draws an analogy between the life of a biological organism, which is born, lives and dies, and that of a record, which is created, is used for so long as it has continuing value and is then disposed of by destruction or by transfer to an archival institution.
Miller says the effective management of records throughout their lifecycle is a key issue in civil service reform. Without the lifecycle concept, vast quantities of inactive records clog up expensive office space, and it is virtually impossible to retrieve important administrative, financial and legal information. Such a situation undermines the accountability of the state and endangers the rights of the citizen.
Without a management program that controls records through the earlier phases of their lifecycle, those of archival value cannot be identified and safeguarded so that they can take their place in due course as part of the nation’s historical and cultural heritage.
The records
Q. Compare and Contrast the Records life Cycle and the Records Continuum Models of Records management.
The Records Lifecycle and the Continuum Model of Records are similar, they both pass through the current stage, semi current stage and they are both archived. However the Continuum Model differs from the Records Lifecycle in a number of ways including its continuous life, the origins of the model, integrated roles of records and archival form, records and elements of records definition, major concerns in records management, records movement patterns, recordkeeping perspectives, recordkeeping process, criteria for selecting archives, time of appraisal, role of recordkeeping managers and lastly undertaking records management tasks.
This essay defines the continuum and the life-cycle concepts. It explains what the continuum concept is all about. The life-cycle had been explained as concept which gives a sense of order among a host of its advantages in records management. The lifecycle is a concept that draws an analogy between the life of a biological organism, which is born, lives and dies, and that of a record, which is created, is used for so long as it has continuing value and is then disposed of by destruction or by transfer to an archival institution.
Miller says the effective management of records throughout their lifecycle is a key issue in civil service reform. Without the lifecycle concept, vast quantities of inactive records clog up expensive office space, and it is virtually impossible to retrieve important administrative, financial and legal information. Such a situation undermines the accountability of the state and endangers the rights of the citizen.
Without a management program that controls records through the earlier phases of their lifecycle, those of archival value cannot be identified and safeguarded so that they can take their place in due course as part of the nation’s historical and cultural heritage.
The records
Bibliography: 1. AS 4390. Standards Australia, 1996 2. Jay Atherton, From lifecycle to continuum, Canada 1985. 3. Marshall, ‘Lifecycle vs. Continuum-what’s the difference?’ Information Quarterly, 16, no2, 200 4. Miller, The Managing of Public Sector Records, Principles &context IRMT 1999 5. Xiaomi An, PhD, ‘An integrated approach to records management…’ ARMA 2003