Future Proof – Protecting our digital future

The following is an insight from the Digital Archives team here at State Records with a fascinating look back at our recent digital history. On 30 June 1992, First State Computing transferred the database that had been used in the recently ended Royal Commission into the Former Chelmsford Private Hospital and Mental Health Services in […]

Recently we chatted with ACECQA about its efforts to implement regular disposal of records as a business as usual practice. ACECQA has very generously agreed to share its experiences, which may be useful for other NSW public offices. This case study describes the approach ACECQA has taken to implementing records disposal, including the tools used, […]

Since 2010, State Records has drafted and published retention and disposal authorities in XML. For State Records, an XML format has several advantages including single source publishing, greater accessibility of approved retention and disposal authorities, and an improved capacity for controlling and managing authorities over time. Using XML also unlocks the valuable information contained within […]

At this time of year, many organisations take the opportunity to clean out storage areas, including network drives and servers. We have received a few enquiries recently from organisations that would like to free up some space by deleting backups. When making decisions about deleting backups, there are a few key things to consider: photo […]

We’re often asked how State Records NSW does digital preservation. Really the defining feature of our approach is its flexibility: we apply a project management-based methodology (the Digital Archives Migration Methodology) to all transfers of digital State archives. This means that we assess, define and document appropriate preservation strategies for each individual transfer (using project […]

After a huge Christmas feast, there’s nothing better for the digestion than some light reading on the topic of decommissioning! For anyone who finds themselves at work in the dying days of December, we hope you enjoy this round up of articles and blog posts related to decommissioning systems:

We have been talking with a range of NSW public offices about their experiences in decommissioning systems. One of these organisations has a range of different business systems running on Windows 2003 servers, so has been involved in a number of decommissioning projects this year. Below they have very generously summarised and shared some of […]

A common problem for many organisations is the accumulation of digital records and information in systems which become obsolete. These systems either rely on legacy technology, or are related to non-current business processes. However many of these systems contain high value information, and their poor management can become a significant risk for organisations. Decommissioning is a process by which a […]

December is often described as the ‘silly season’, filled with end of year parties, hot days and getting Christmas carols stuck in your head. Here at State Records we’ve decided to wrest control of this month from fun loving frivolity and focus on the wonderful topic of decommissioning! All December long our blog posts will […]

Last week we had our regular Digital Implementers’ Group meeting. This time, the topic was focused around people and organisational culture. The group’s members what are the necessary cultural factors in organisations which have strong digital information and records management, and what are the cultural barriers. Representing in the group were are wide range of […]