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ARCHIVED - Management of Government Information Holdings (Review Guide) - November 11, 1995


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Storage, Protection and Retention

Service to Users: Objective 8

The institution maintains information while it has operational value in terms of supporting decision making, program operations and service delivery and while it is required to meet legislative and policy requirements.

Criterion

8.1 The institution has identified and is protecting and retaining information on its projects, programs and policies to ensure continuity in the management of the organization. (MGIH policy, requirement 6.)

Questions/Practices

8.1.1 Does the institution identify and protect its essential information holdings (as defined in the Guide to the Preservation of Essential Records published by Emergency Preparedness Canada)? (MGIH policy, requirement 4.)

8.1.2 Is the way that information is stored and protected appropriate to the institution's operational needs and legislative and policy requirements? For example, do the storage media and location permit quick and easy access and retrieval by users?

8.1.3 Do protection measures prevent unauthorized access, retrieval, use, alteration, inadvertent loss or unauthorized destruction? Do protection measures provide for the survival of the environment in which information is held? Can important information be recovered in the event of a disaster?

Criterion

8.2 Storage and protection methods balance operational, legal and user requirements.

Questions/Practices

8.2.1 Are users satisfied that information holdings are useable, i.e. the holdings are in a form that can be used by the persons who need the information? Where holdings are stored on a medium other than paper, do users have the tools to gain access to the information? For example, if information is held in microform (microfilm or microfiche) is it immediately useable by those who need it or must it be transferred to another medium first? If a transfer of medium is necessary, can the information still be provided to users in a timely fashion?

8.2.2 Do protection measures satisfy legal and policy requirements without undue interference to users? For example, access to holdings should not be unnecessarily restricted because they have been over-classified (e.g. as "Confidential" or "Secret").

8.2.3 Is the level of protection commensurate with the level of risk and does it take into consideration user requirements for access and use?

Criterion

8.3 Information storage, protection and retention methods and costs are justified.

Questions/Practices

8.3.1 Is there an institution policy to permit individuals to hold information? Where individuals hold information, (e.g. on paper files, computer memory and diskettes) is this in fact consistent with the institution's policy for the custody of information holdings?

8.3.2 Do managers and staff understand that their files and computer workspace are included in the scope of legislative and policy requirements applicable to information holdings, e.g. the Privacy Act, Access to Information Act, National Archives of Canada Act, National Library Act, Government Security policy, Management of Government Information Holdings policy, Management of Information Technology policy, etc? In practice, the institution's information holdings specialists, records managers, librarians, data administrators, etc., cannot know what information each individual manager and staff member is holding. It is the responsibility of all employees to ensure the proper management of information holdings in accordance with applicable requirements.

8.3.3 Where individuals hold information, are all the associated costs recognized and justified? What is the cost of the storage area and computer memory? What is the cost of sorting and searching through additional quantities of information trying to locate specific information? How do these costs compare to using a corporate system to hold the same information? Obviously users will always prefer to hold some of their information. The question is to what extent is it operationally and cost-justified?

8.3.4 Do information storage and protection methods conform to government-wide standards for the transmission, maintenance and protection of information holdings (MGIH policy, requirement 4)?

8.3.5 Does the institution balance frequency and convenience of retrieval against storage costs regarding information not frequently or urgently required? For example, is older electronic information down-loaded from main memory? Are less active records moved from main office areas to specialized, lower-cost storage facilities?

Service to Users: Objective 9

Information holdings that serve to reconstruct the evolution of policy and program decisions are retained. (MGIH policy statement.)

Criterion

9.1 The institution has a systematic process to ensure that information of enduring value which documents the evolution of the institution's policies, programs and major decisions is identified and retained. (MGIH policy, requirement 6.)

Questions/Practices

9.1.1 Has the institution identified what information should be retained in order to preserve the corporate memory?

9.1.2 Is this information stored and protected for long-term preservation? For example, will the storage media permit retrieval and use of this information for many years into the future?

9.1.3 Are institutional publications stored and protected in the institution's library?

9.1.4 Have migration strategies been implemented in order to convert information held in media with a short-term life to media with a long-term life? For example, compact discs have an estimated ten-year life before oxidation causes decay of the recorded information. New copies will have to be made periodically.

9.1.5 Are storage and retention practices for this information designed to protect against loss or destruction? Are originals kept secure, and copies made available for use?

9.1.6 Has the institution developed any documentation of its history, case studies or profiles in conjunction with the Canadian Centre for Management Development? (MGIH policy, guideline 10.)