Emma consulting Wikipedia
This blog was written by Emma Towner, a member of staff in the Collection Support Unit of the Collections Care Section. Emma is studying for the Msc/Econ or Diploma in Archival Administration at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and this blog, on the challenges of managing information in the digital age, forms part of her research.
In my experience, Web 2.0 applications such as blogs and wikis are relatively easy to use. A user can type anything into a blog, click on a button and within seconds it is available for view. Wikis are a good way of way of contributing one’s own ideas about subjects, or joining an on-going debate. They give the individual an opportunity to share sources and information, just by clicking a few buttons. Web based encyclopedias, such as Wikipedia, are more often than not in the top five search results of nearly any topic.
The use of websites has captured the attention of records managers as they are an important information source, and can also be used for business transactions. These Web 2.0 applications are electronic records, and face many threats, such as hackers sabotaging the information that has been posted on the web. The security policy concerning records management should be revised every time a new threat is detected or raised. Other threats may include less intentional ones, such as carelessness and ignorance. This may include staff members who may accidentally delete information. There will have to be changes to staffing policies to ensure that staff using the Web 2.0 applications have received sufficient training on how to do so properly. Web applications are difficult to manage as they can only be accessed using technology which requires changes to access policies. This may cause some difficulty, as in reality a user will need to have access to the Internet to read the posts; or perhaps there could be an option added to the policy where a user can request a post to be printed out.
Record management policies must be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Managing information on a network or intranet will ensure version control and information currency. It is certain that records management approaches to Web 2.0 applications will need to adapt in the future. Records managers need to be aware or prepared for these changes, and to act appropriately through policy changes when the time is right. If records managers choose to keep records using Web 2.0 applications, they will need to take a look at retention policies and try to decide how long they should be kept, and if there is a need to keep a record of old information before a newer and more up to date version of the same blog is posted online.
I think the best solution for these problems is for a web-based security policy to be written and applied to all records that are to be placed online. They should be maintained on a daily basis to ensure that the possible threats are minimised. Staff should be allowed restricted and temporary access to make sure that only those authorised to make any changes to the online wikis and blogs have access to them.