Abstract
As the title suggests this book focuses on addressing the people issues of managing records in organisational contexts. The authors refer to the AC+erm research project as providing empirical evidence of the magnitude of the problem and refer to one of its findings as being ‘particularly striking’ (p.xi), viz. that records professionals may be ‘part of the problem as well as the solution’ (McLeod et al., 2011). Their aim is show how taking an information culture perspective can provide a basis on which to develop and promote better records management practice. Oliver and Foscarini draw on their own extensive academic research, as well as that of other records and culture theorists, together with their practitioner experience and study of organisations in different sectors globally, to provide an overview of the theory of organisational information culture, why it is important and how it can be used in the context of managing records.
The central concept presented in the book is the ‘information culture framework’ developed by Gillian Oliver (2011) which the authors demonstrate can be used to ‘assess or diagnose’ an organisation’s information culture. The framework comprises three levels represented in a pyramid. Each level comprises a series of factors that describe or characterise the information culture. The first level, the base of the pyramid, represents factors that, in the authors’ words are often very hard to change – the value accorded to records, information (and communication) preferences, language considerations and regional technological infrastructure. The second, middle level represents the information management knowledge, skills and expertise of employees. The third level, the tip of the pyramid, comprises ‘two organizational features which are highly significant for successful recordkeeping and are the most susceptible to change’ (p. 18) viz. the organisation’s information governance model and trust in organisational recordkeeping system.
The book comprises five parts of which the middle three relate to the three levels of this information culture framework. The other two ‘top and tail’ these with an important context-setting first part and a final one ‘bringing it all together’. The chapters in the three central parts also have a common structure. Each one begins by exploring the facets of the particular level of the framework, followed by a discussion of the techniques that can be used to assess those facets in a specific organisational context, and then suggested next steps to address the situation that has emerged from the assessment and tackle the people problem. This structure makes it easy for the reader to home in on the parts that are particularly pertinent for their situation once they have determined their organisation’s information culture and hence the level at which they are in the authors’ information culture framework.
In the final chapter the authors acknowledge that records professionals face ‘enormous challenges’ – demonstrating relevance and value in the dynamic digital world whilst getting on with the task of ensuring information is managed for accountability and evidential purposes (though I would argue it is for more than that); and mediating between different stakeholders. Some of these challenges require ‘soft’ people skills, not just discipline-specific and technical skills. They argue that taking an information culture approach helps address the need for soft skills, and their key message is that it is vital for records professionals to understand their organisation’s information culture, and the factors that contribute to it, before taking action to develop and implement records management initiatives. To quote them: the aim of this book is primarily inquisitive or exploratory, that is, it is not meant to suggest prescriptive ‘solutions’ to general records management problems but rather to help each reader understand what does on in his or her workplace, what the problems are and how to improve any existing ‘problems situation’. (p. 156)
In the final chapter Oliver and Foscarini also discuss how existing (and potentially future yet to be developed) tools, standards and approaches can but used in conjunction with an information culture perspective but cannot replace this approach.
My copy of the book is littered with marginalia noting things I fully agree with and others I would challenge and like to explore in a discussion, sources I have referred to in the past, new research questions, points to share with students, places where I would have liked to know more, and an observation that they wait until the final chapter to say more about two methodological or theoretical approaches – Checkland’s soft systems methodology and genre studies – which they say provided the inspiration for many of the ideas they discuss in the book. I wondered why it had not come earlier.
This book is a valuable addition to the literature, particularly for students and practitioners needing to understand information culture and its significance in developing successful strategies for better records management. The authors have made their wealth of research into aspects of information culture, some of which has been published in academic journals and doctoral theses, readily accessible to a wider audience and easy to read. This simplicity is a strength which belies the complexity of this subject. Each chapter contains a set of carefully selected references and there is a good index covering topics and authors.
The authors do not take a geographically bound stance; rather they draw from their wide range of geographically dispersed case studies and experience (Europe, North America, the Far East and antipodes) which adds to the book’s value. Having directed my students to their work published elsewhere this book is already featuring in current teaching modules.