Managing E-Records In North American Colleges And Universities: An Overview Of Current Practices

This paper describes the goals, methods, and preliminary findings of an on-going research project funded by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to investigate current practices among North American college and university archives and records management programs. The project used an online survey and follow-up interviews to document approaches to capturing, storing, organizing, and making available a broad range of materials such as administrative records, digital assets, email, and institutional publications and websites. The findings indicate that the field is less advanced in its efforts than many practitioners, particularly at small- and medium-sized academic institutions, have believed. For many the key to introducing even a rudimentary e-records management program is to focus on a single, often highly visible area and to modify existing policies and procedures to encompass e-records.