We know that public offices and local authorities want the ability to manage information and records digitally instead of in paper (or other) form for various reasons. Digitisation enables this. Archives New Zealand, also encourages organisations to maintain their information and records digitally.
Digitisation projects are expensive, and once done, it is hard to get approval to re-digitise if the end result is not well done. To minimise risk, establishing best practice for digitisation before you start is essential.
So what is best practice you ask?
Glad you asked because we want to tell you that Archives New Zealand is refreshing our guidance on digitisation to answer your question/s. We know this is of interest to the sector from the number of inquiries received and are working to have the new guidance out by the end of 2016.
Can you still use the digitisation guidance that was previously on the records toolkit?
Yes, it is current until the new guidance is published.
We are reformatting to our new branding style, and clarifying or replacing parts. The Authority to retain digitised public records in electronic form only will be clarified but “retained”. There will be a new factsheet for local authorities. And these two documents will be accompanied by a digitisation guide.
Understanding the application of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 and its interaction with the Public Records Act 2005 is essential in getting to grips with digitisation requirements, including the ability to dispose of the source material (or not). We aim to give you a clear understanding of the legislative framework for management of your digitised information and records, as well as best practice for digitisation. All this, just in time for Christmas… a useful present to put under your organisation’s Christmas tree.
If you need access to the current guidance just drop us a line at rkadvice@dia.govt.nz
We appreciate receiving any feedback on the way our guidance and the records toolkit work for you, so we can improve it along the way. You can use the comment function on the blog or send to rkadvice@dia.govt.nz