information management | The National Archives blog

Posts tagged 'information management'

Mon Jul

2012

Higgs Boson: the Big Data challenge could have happened in Mundford

Posted by Linda Stewart in Technology and innovation

CERN announcement 4 July 2012

Searching for the Higgs Boson is not just a case of shooting particles around that collide somewhere under Switzerland (a lay person’s grasp of particle physics), CERN has to collect, analyse and manage all of the data this generates.

Big Data is a big thing just now. In the wake of the Government’s Open Data White Paper, Government departments have just published their Data Strategies, including their plans for Big Data - defined as: ‘data which is routinely collected and held by a department as part of its everyday activities’.

Thu Jul

2012

Marking the centenary of Crown copyright – open government in practice

Posted by Jim Wretham in Managing information

2012 really seems to be the year of big royal anniversaries. Hot on the heels of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, July marks the centenary of Crown copyright. It was in 1912 that that the Copyright Act of 1911 came into force and the concept of Crown copyright first made an appearance on the statute books.

Catalogue reference: WORK 25/69/B1/PR/3

The phrase ‘Crown copyright’ probably conjures up shelves of Royal Decrees and ancient parchments gathering dust in government archives. Although that is partly the case – except that the archives at Kew are in pristine condition and are anything but dusty or fusty – Crown copyright covers a wealth of government documents, both published and unpublished, produced by ministers and civil servants. So the term encompasses a huge wealth of documents including the Highway Code, Ordnance Survey maps, weather charts produced by the Met Office, government reports, government statistics and most information published on government websites. It also covers minutes written by government ministers and civil servants. This article, indeed, is covered by Crown copyright.

Mon Jun

2012

Any road will get you there

Posted by Tim Callister in Managing information

Artwork of Alice and the Cheshire Cat by John Tenniel

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

- Lewis Carroll; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

I do a lot of work supporting government departments that need to migrate across information management solutions, usually because the old one doesn’t support the business / users anymore. The extract above from Lewis Carroll is a perfect explanation of why you need to understand your business requirements before piloting any software.

Wed Jun

2012

Dastardly Digital Dilemmas: 3) Telling stories

Posted by Mark Merifield in Managing information

I’ve had this quote scrawled on a piece of Christmas wrapping paper that I’ve been carrying around since, well Christmas. Boxing Day to be precise.

It comes from Neil MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects, chapter 19, The Mold Gold Cape. He describes how the removal of the skeleton at the dig site meant that they lost so much more potential information about the way people lived at the time. The story of the cape was only half told.

“For although the precious finds will usually survive, the context which explains them will be lost, and it’s that context of material – often financially worthless – that turns treasure into history.”

You might say that for our records it’s what turns documents from Peter and Jane into Shakespeare…

We’ve already spoken of the importance of context in managing information, but this is IMPORTANT. So let’s explore further. A few days after I was leafing through someone else’s Christmas presents, The National Archives released a set of Margaret Thatcher’s files. One of the elements that caused so much attention was her hand written notes in the margins of the papers. They bring so much more context to the documents, an insight into her thoughts and personality.

Fri May

2012

Information management through music

Posted by Rob Johnson in Managing information

Can music really contain subliminal or hidden messages? A question I’ve pondered since listening to my iPod on the train this morning…

Tape cover found in possession of Radio Caroline DJ Phillip Marshall ("alias Mitchell") at Folkestone (HO 255/1226)

Thu Apr

2012

The importance of context when shattering dreams

Posted by Tim Callister in Managing information

View of Escalante Canyon from Dry Mesa Quarry, Colorado

In 1999 a daring young man with brilliant blue eyes stood atop the Uncompaghre Plateau in Western Colorado. Jaw held tight to stop his quivering bottom lip, he looked up to the azure sky and fought back the tears.

‘Sorry kid. The Brontosaurus doesn’t exist.’

In five simple words (and one Latin one) the last remnant of his childhood lay dashed upon the hard dirt floor of the Dry Mesa Quarry.

That young palaeontologist was me and while my site director did at least offer gentle words of condolence for my loss. I was left wanting.

‘How could there not be a Brontosaurus? Why were people not angrier about this? And if Brontosaurus didn’t exist… whose giant shin bone was I currently wrapping in plaster?’

Mon Apr

2012

Something green, something blue

Posted by Melinda Haunton in Behind the scenes, Managing information

Sharp-eyed visitors to The National Archives website will have spotted some big changes last week. For the first time since the website was launched in this form, we have added a new headline section. The bright green Archives Sector section now joins About Us, Records, Information Management and Shop Online.

Archives Sector website on launch day

This is a really important change for us, a key step on the path we are taking as we develop our role as archive sector leaders for England. The new section is designed to support archive services and their funders to develop and improve provision across the entire sector. That means more sustainable services, excellent preservation for the future, and increasing the options and quality of access to archives for all users.

Wed Mar

2012

Information Management in the movies

Posted by Rob Johnson in Managing information

Welcome to my blog! Let’s begin by setting the scene…

In December 2011 the Cabinet Office published the Information Principles for the UK Public Sector as part of the wider UK Government ICT Strategy. The National Archives both helped in the development of these Principles, and continues to support the public sector in implementing them.

How do you write an accessible blog about this piece of guidance, I hear you ask? Well, whilst watching The Shawshank Redemption last night I had an idea: Could I explain how the seven Information Principles work using examples taken from the movies?

So here they are, the Information Principles at the movies. (Caution: spoiler alert!)

1. Information is a valued asset: Blair Witch Project (1999)

Three hapless American teens are trying to escape the woods and the elusive ‘Blair Witch’. Their only reliable means of navigation is a map, which is thrown into a river by one of the characters, leaving them lost in the woods to be killed by the witch.

This low budget horror flick is a simple analogy for valuing information. The map is an information asset; it holds the key to achieving their requirements (namely, survival). Having failed to value it, they end up doomed to waste time and resources, and are ultimately killed off by the Blair Witch.

2. Information is managed: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

The Jedi Temple is home to the Jedi archives – seen as the definitive resource for information about the galaxy. When Obi-Wan Kenobi questions the omission of a particular planet, the archivist replies “if an item doesn’t appear in our records, it does not exist…”

In the movie, the archives have been altered by a rogue Jedi looking to hide the existence of a Clone army. Good information management means that we know when records are moved or deleted through authorised and auditable processes. If we don’t protect our information and understand where it is, then our information can’t protect us.

Fri Feb

2012

Dastardly Digital Dilemmas: 1) The Medium is the Message

Posted by Mark Merifield in Managing information

I know we’ve only just met but I want you to do me a favour. I want you to lean over and pick up a sheet of paper. Done? Excellent! Now write something on it. Great! Now put it in a box, label it and put the box on the shelf for twenty to thirty years. As long as it hasn’t rained too much you should be able to pick up the box, take the paper out and still be able to read it. A little simplistic but you’ve just taken your first steps to managing and preserving the paper record. Congratulations.

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