From reactive to proactive appraisal

Abstract

The records continuum made waves in Britain in the early-2000s and was variously hailed as a long-needed theoretical framework for electronic information management or rejected as an abstract model that has little relevance for recordkeeping processes. What made the model so appealing to some was its move away from a linear view of recordkeeping processes to a multi-dimensional way of seeing and perceiving recordkeeping responsibilities.¹ Archivists and records managers, now no longer seen as at opposite ends of the professional scale, were asked to exert their influence at creation stage to ensure the right records were created and to help develop coherent recordkeeping systems. A proactive approach to the creation, management and, not least, the appraisal of records was stipulated, so that records were fit to not only serve business needs but also wider societal interests in permanence.