| CODE | LIA1111 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Records Management for Public Administration | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Library Information and Archive Sciences | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit intends to introduce the theoretical and practical aspects of records management tailored for the needs of public administration. It introduces the theoretical basis but constantly applies this to real life situations, especially in Maltese Public administration. It discusses whether the traditional registry system is adequate for today’s ever increasing needs of managing hybrid records. It discusses the legal and ethical implications of records management for good governance and accountability. It discusses how legal instruments such as GDPR, Freedom of Information, the Public Administration Act, the Civil Registration Act and other recent changes have impacted the upkeep of records. Furthermore, it discusses the challenges of hybrid systems and how public officers can guarantee the effective management of business processes using paperless systems yet safeguard the production of best evidence documentation that can stand the test of time. Students will learn the basic principles underpinning appraisal of public records and how to create a retention policy that can be effective for the creating body and also in line with the needs imposed on public offices through the National Archives Act. International case law and case studies provided by the International Records Management Trust (IRMT) of the UK will also be referred to during the lectures. Study-unit Aims: - Introduce major theoretical foundations, research directions, and case studies of records management; - Assist students in understanding important conceptual principles, methodologies, and structures for records management as a core governance driver; - Provide a strong basis on which to expand and build further scholarly and practical knowledge about best practice application of records management in public administration. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate a strong comprehension of the major theoretical foundations, research directions, and case studies of records management for public administration; - Demonstrate a wide understanding of the concepts, approaches and frameworks within records management and the way these drive action on bot the academic and applicability levels; - Empathize with major theoretical and practical challenges, dimensions and realities of current records management environments at their places of work. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically assess, evaluate, and develop arguments, concepts, and positions of both scholarly and practical dimensions on records management aspects; - Apply knowledge to case scenario from real life public administration examples; - Employ the theoretical concepts of appraisal learned to design appraisal criteria for selected records from a variety of public administration work scenarios; - Refine communication skills in proposing solutions to tangible records management challenges they are presented with. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Kennedy, J. and Schauder, C., Records Management: a guide to corporate record keeping. Longman, 1998. - Penn, I., Pennix, G., and Caulson, J., Records Management Handbook. 2nd.ed. Gower, 1994. - Yeo, G. and Shepherd, E., Managing Records: a handbook of principles and practice. 2003. Supplementary Readings: - Lowry, J., Thurston, A. and Wamukoya, J. (2014) Integrity in government through records management: essays in honor of Anne Thurston. (Eds.) London: Ashgate. Stephens, D.O. (1995) ‘The Registry: the world’s most predominant recordkeeping system’, Records Management Quarterly, 29(1), 64-6. - The Malta Data Protection Act. http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8906&l=1 - The Freedom of Information Act. http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8962 - The Public Administration Act. http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8963 - The National Archives Act. http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8943&l=1 |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Charles Farrugia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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