Archives and Records Management Training Course

Participants can define governance structures and policy components for a records and archives programme.

• ISO 30301 management-system principles linked to executive accountability
• Records policy clauses drafted for creation, capture, access and disposal
• RACI matrices assign ownership for records, archives and system controls
• Governance committees structured around risk, performance and escalation decisions
• Delegations of authority documented for disposal and access approvals
• Policy exceptions recorded with rationale, authorisation and review dates

Participants can analyse business activity and produce a records inventory suitable for control design.

• Business functions, activities and transactions analysed through process mapping
• Records inventories capture format, owner, location, volume and sensitivity
• Interviews elicit undocumented practices, pain points and retrieval requirements
• Information flows traced between email, shared drives and business applications
• Record series boundaries defined from transaction evidence and business purpose
• Gap analysis compares current controls against policy and regulatory obligations

Participants can build a functional classification scheme and file plan for consistent records capture.

• Functional classification separates business purpose from changing organisational structures
• Hierarchical file plans built from functions, activities and transactions
• Naming conventions combine controlled terms, dates, identifiers and version status
• Controlled vocabularies reduce ambiguous titles, duplicates and inconsistent retrieval
• File-opening rules prevent fragmented folders and uncontrolled parallel copies
• Classification mappings connect legacy folders with approved record series

Participants can specify metadata and indexing controls that support retrieval, accountability and preservation.

• Metadata schemas capture creator, date, action, relationship and access status
• Dublin Core elements adapted for descriptive access to archival collections
• Indexing rules apply authorised names, subjects, places and controlled terms
• Persistent identifiers distinguish files, aggregations, versions and digital objects
• Minimum metadata sets defined for paper, email and electronic records
• Quality checks detect missing metadata, invalid values and duplicate identifiers

Participants can appraise record series and draft retention rules with defensible triggers.

• Appraisal assesses administrative, legal, fiscal, evidential and historical value
• Retention triggers set from event dates, closure dates or supersession
• Legal and regulatory research documented in retention schedule citations
• Business owners validate operational need before retention periods are approved
• Permanent-value criteria identify archives requiring transfer and preservation
• Retention schedules distinguish records, copies, transitory material and reference information

Participants can manage authorised destruction, archival transfer and legal-hold processes.

• Disposal authorities connect approved schedules with accountable decision makers
• Destruction certificates record series, dates, method and authorising signatures
• Transfer lists document custody, extent, condition and access restrictions
• Legal holds suspend routine destruction for investigations, disputes and audits
• Hold notices define scope, custodians, acknowledgement and release procedures
• Secure destruction methods selected for paper, media and electronic records

Participants can apply access and restriction controls to records and archival material.

• Access classifications align confidentiality, privacy, security and business sensitivity
• Role-based access controls restrict viewing, editing, export and deletion permissions
• Privacy impact considerations identify personal data within record series
• Redaction workflows preserve releasable content while protecting restricted information
• Access request logs record decisions, exemptions, disclosures and review dates
• Reading-room rules protect original archives during consultation and reproduction

Participants can establish physical storage, tracking and handling controls for paper records and archives.

• Storage surveys assess shelving, packaging, environmental conditions and capacity
• Location control assigns repository, bay, shelf, box and folder identifiers
• Barcoding supports movement tracking, circulation control and periodic stocktakes
• Checkout procedures record borrower, due date, condition and return status
• Environmental monitoring addresses temperature, humidity, light, pests and water
• Disaster response priorities protect people, stabilise records and document losses

Participants can accession and arrange archival material while preserving provenance and context.

• Accession records document source, custody, rights, restrictions and acquisition terms
• Surveying identifies formats, condition, duplication, hazards and processing priorities
• Arrangement levels establish fonds, series, files and item relationships
• Original order retained, reconstructed or documented through reasoned archival decisions
• Processing plans balance researcher access, risk, resources and collection significance
• Separation sheets preserve intellectual relationships when items require removal

Participants can create consistent archival descriptions and finding aids for discovery and access.

• ISAD(G) description elements applied from fonds through item level
• Administrative and biographical histories establish creators, functions and context
• Scope and content notes identify subjects, formats and significant activities
• Authority records distinguish organisations, persons and families with similar names
• Finding aids structure collection-level descriptions, series lists and container lists
• Access points improve retrieval through controlled names, subjects and places

Participants can define functional requirements for capturing and controlling electronic records.

• Capture rules identify when emails, documents and transactions become records
• System requirements specify classification, metadata, retention and disposal functionality
• Audit trails record creation, access, modification, export and disposal events
• Version control distinguishes drafts, final records and superseded copies
• Interoperability requirements address transfer, export formats and metadata mappings
• User acceptance criteria test retrieval, permissions, retention and audit evidence

Participants can plan digitisation and preservation actions for authentic, accessible digital archives.

• Digitisation selection weighs demand, condition, rights, value and available resources
• Scanning specifications define resolution, colour, file format and quality thresholds
• OCR quality checks measure accuracy against legibility and search requirements
• OAIS reference model structures ingest, storage, data management and access
• Fixity checks use checksums to detect unauthorised change or file corruption
• Preservation plans address format obsolescence, storage replication and migration triggers

Participants can assess records risks, prepare audit evidence and track programme performance.

• Risk registers identify causes, consequences, controls, owners and treatment actions
• Control testing examines evidence of capture, access, retention and disposal
• Audit sampling selects record series, users, repositories and transactions systematically
• Nonconformities documented with severity, root cause, action and due date
• Key performance indicators track retrieval time, disposal volume and metadata completeness
• Management reports link records findings to operational, legal and reputational risk

Participants can plan a phased implementation that gains adoption and sustains records controls.

• Implementation roadmaps sequence policy, inventory, classification, scheduling and system actions
• Prioritisation matrices rank initiatives by risk reduction, effort and dependencies
• Stakeholder analysis identifies sponsors, custodians, users, opponents and influencers
• Communication plans explain filing rules, retention responsibilities and support channels
• Training needs analysis targets roles, tasks, competence gaps and reinforcement
• Post-implementation reviews measure adoption, exceptions, lessons and corrective actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete records and archives management programme for a selected organisational context.

• Programme scope defines business functions, repositories, systems and archival holdings
• Records inventory findings translated into prioritised control and remediation actions
• Classification, retention, metadata and access controls integrated into one design
• Archival transfer, description and preservation requirements aligned with appraisal decisions
• Implementation roadmap assigns milestones, owners, resources, risks and performance measures
• Peer review tests programme decisions against audit, access and migration scenarios