This study places an emphasis on systematically collecting education related records and exploring ways toward vitalizing collection policy through examining and analyzing the Office of Education Records Center's present records collecting conditions....
This study places an emphasis on systematically collecting education related records and exploring ways toward vitalizing collection policy through examining and analyzing the Office of Education Records Center's present records collecting conditions.
For this, I conducted literature studies, surveys, and interviews through e-mail or phone calls. Through literature studies, I investigated the establishment background and administration system of the Office of Education Records Center, the types and characteristics of Office of Education's records, and the methods, needs, and tools of collection policy.
Surveys have been conducted to the records managers of 16 city and provincial Offices of Education Records Centers, records managers working at Gyeonggi provincial Office of Education Records Center chosen as a special case object, and 103 users who have used the center. Through this survey, present records collecting conditions of the Office of Education Records Center's, the current states of registration, arrangement, and transfer of each management office, and users requests were grasped.
First, the surveys with records managers in nationwide city and provincial Offices of Education Records Centers reveals that Records Centers were not high in the status in each Office of Education and main user groups were so restricted within internal users that they were managed closed a lot. The most usual type which was read or used turned out to be evidential records. Records collection ranges were usually administrative records and publications from higher or directory offices.
Second, concerning the tasks of registration, arrangement, and transfer of management office, which affects the collection policy of records centers, it is judged that the tasks related with electronic records such as registration and management, production reporting, and records arrangement, filing and transfer were well managed. However, dealing with non-electronic records, publications, and secret records was relatively neglected. Missing types of records were audiovisual records, administrative museum matters, report, journals & Proceedings, and reports of investigation, in order.
Third, in the collection policy, aspects of human resources, budget, and space facilities were generally lower than normal. Also a separate staff or budget only for collection was not found. The biggest obstacles of collection policy were the lack of policy support from higher offices, staff's noncooperative attitude, program and system problems, in order.
Fourth, As most records center didn't collected separate menuscripts, except for the transfer of administrative records, there was no separate management of donors, or even a small number of institutions which were doing that were also usually practicing general maintenance such as sending thank you letters or awarding plaques.
Fifth, the methods for public relation of collection policy were sending official notices to employees, or posting notices on the records center web site, providing booklets related at public service centers, in order. However, even after the public relation, the increase rate of materials donated didn't turn out to grow.
Sixth, at the question of existence of written collection policy, the response comes from four places, and rather than rules or regulations, that was alternated into the plans with admission of the head, or statements in annual business plans.
Next, the survey results with office records managers at Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Records Center are as follows.
First, more than half of the office records managers finished training courses from National archives record & service or within institutions, but satisfaction level was not high. Therefore, even in practicing actual tasks, they had difficulties in understanding the various official documents and regulations from records center and was likely to be different interpretations from person to person.
Second, except for office record managers, other employees' recognition about the importance of the records management wasn't high. This was mainly responsible for major obstacles.
Third, relatively, non-electronic records was poorly managed than the electronic records, and transfer was not practiced systematically. And the reasons for transfer postponement were high frequency of use and avoidance of transfer.
Fourth, the biggest obstacles to the transfer were the complexity of the difficult process and employees' noncooperative attitudes. And they demand simplification of transfer process, changes in employees' minds, detailed and easy-to-understand instructions about records management.
The results of surveys for external users of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Records Center were as follows.
First, external users' main purposes were to obtain informations and their interests were primarily information & historical records. In other words, whereas internal users (employees) primarily used to record evidential records, external users of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Records Center were interested in information & historical records for the purpose of obtaining information.
Second, about the necessity of records center, the respondents who have not thought that it is a necessary institution were almost similar in proportion to the respondents who have.
Third, among the collections serviced on the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Records Center's web-site, users' most useful collections were information records for their personal use. On the contrary, they showed little interest on the honor of Museum materials awarded to the institutions. In other words, the users have much demand for information directly related to the field of education, and they have a strong recognition that office of education records center is a place preserving various information records related to education.
Fourth, in the management of donor of records centers, the users preferred more active management such as sending publications or invitation to the institution's events.
Based on the results of surveys and the present status of offices of education records centers, methods for establishing collection policy are proposed as follows.
As the methods for legal and Institutional support, in order for office of education records center to secure authorities for enforcing more active collection policy, the next discussion about establishing offices of education records centers should be fundamentally made to establish local archives as permanent records management institutions. Also, I propose spreading nationwide records management system integrating scattered systems which make it impossible to grasp exact creating status in the position of records center. In aspects of Budget, human resources, equipment and facilities, more specific and detail plans like securing professionals and offline space for exhibition should be made and the government should actively support it. In addition, the missing registration and avoiding transfer at offices are due to complex process and inefficiency, so more simple and efficient methods should be complemented. Finally, the training to all employees is to be conducted, especially specific and level training should be supported to office records managers.
In addition, as for written collection policy, I select 5 components such as archival mission and purpose, priorities and limits, clarifying collection range, user range, and cooperation and propose designing specific collection policy to each component. I explained the collection methods, dividing into the categories of administrative records and menuscript. In the case of administrative records, among the 11 office tasks considered as ones affecting collection policy, I proposed methods focused on 7 tasks. As menuscripts, I presented establishing educational institution archives, varying collection channels for activation of donation, and donor management case.
For regional specialization, I propose building educational policy records collections reflecting characteristics of local education. Considering the users are mostly students and teachers, I propose providing records related to locals for users as teaching-learning materials.