Reframing records management as knowledge governance.

• Author: Bailey, Robert L.
• Position: Records Management and Knowledge Mobilisation: A Handbook for Regulation, Innovation and Transformation - Book review

Records Management and Knowledge Mobilisation: A Handbook for Regulation, Innovation and Transformation, while not easy to read and somewhat dated since it was first published in 2007 as part of Chandos Publishing's Information Professional Series, otherwise lives up to the series' promise of being authoritative and practical.

Author Stephen Harries takes a high-level view of his subject: the "new and potential currents in records management and its relationship to knowledge, in the context of ideas and work from related disciplines, drawing in particular on work in public policy, economics and information science ... "

While the record continuum model Harries uses as his thesis originated in Australia, it has become more popular in the United States in recent years. Harries expends great efforts developing his model: defining the roles of records and knowledge management and then showing how changes are coming through hybridization.

His core set of principles would not be unfamiliar to records professionals, but his treatment of them would be insightful, as he extends these principles into practical application.

The Changing Climate

Over the last 15 years, records managers have tackled problems of electronic information and built a strong case for information governance based on a model of regulation and management control. The public sector environment is now changing rapidly, with more emphasis on efficiency, flexibility, loosening regulations, and cutting budgets. This book shows how records management can continue to contribute to public sector reform and transformation in this new climate.

By linking practical ideas about the use and management of knowledge, Harries draws on insights from the study of policy-making and program delivery to show how managing the relationship between records and knowledge and their creation and use can thrive and reconcile the demands of regulation through a wider concept of the governance of knowledge and information.

Options for Reframing RM

In the book's 11 chapters, which are divided into "Introduction," "Principles," and "Practice" sections, Harries builds a strong case for refraining records management towards knowledge governance. He identifies three options for the future. The records manager can:

1. Retain local and organizational focus, as custodian of memory and a record of past actions

2. Merge with information managers and technologists of various hues, perhaps losing a unique identity among...