Study On The Theory And Method Of Electronic Records Appraisal In Modern Organizations

Electronic information revolution brings archivists and archival profession fundamental challenges which mainly have two respects: Firstly, it changes hierarchical structure which is relatively stable, and makes the hierarchies flattened gradually; secondly, it causes the shaping of new communication way and new records form ( namely electronic records ). Both the theory and the practice in contemporary archive field are challenged in these two kinds of trends, which impels us to review the traditional archival theory and profession, and explore the new theory and method of records and archives management which adapt well to the characteristics of modern organizations.At present, the hottest subject discussed by domestic and international scholars is the Records Continuum, because this theory has shaken the traditional management paradigm of records and archives. The Records Continuum has exerted an enormous influence on each business segment of records and archives management, especially on that of electronic records management, so the scholars of various countries have all expressed the great concern for this theory. The characteristics of electronic records and the particularity of the electronic record-keeping system in which electronic records are created (the electronic record-keeping system is the source of electronic records) make the appraisal further more conspicuous to other archival business segments and becoming the key part among them, at the same time the appraisal of electronic records is a puzzle in practice. I think, the flat structure is the inevitable trend in all kinds of organizations under the current situation, and the connotation of flat structure includes and reflects other respects that the modern organizations have improved. It is the unavoidable and deep influence that the information technology has on the society structure. Moreover the electronic records management paradigm which is advocated in the Records Continuum accords with the operation and management style in flat structure to a great extent, and the appraisal of electronic records has the special status in archive business practice, which determine that the research on the theory and method of appraisal of electronic records in modern organizations gains some perspective on the future and has directive significance for reality. This article comprises four parts altogether: in the first part, the elementary trends of organizations in information age and the their impacts on modern archives management have been analyzed. With the force and support of information technology, the modern organizations demonstrate the flattening of the organizational structure, the networking of the communication means inside organization, the teamworking of the function and the reengineering of the business processes more and more, in which the flattening of the organizational structure is the foundation of other changes and the typical characteristic of modern organizations. In the course of changing mentioned above, the thought and the business process of archives management need shift as well to meet the requests of modern organizations in information age, for it is an essential business which ensures all kinds of organizations to run well. The changes mainly consist of four respects: the automation of the working methods, the integrated archives management thought, the cooperative way in archival practice, and the shifting of electronic records management process, and these changes will affect the appraisal method of electronic records directly .We need new theory to guide the implementation of the electronic records appraisal.The second part first provides the definitions of "record", "electronic records", "reliability", "authenticity" which are derived from the research project of the University of British Columbia on electronic records and the InterPARES international research project (The International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems), and lays the conceptual foundation f...