information | The National Archives blog

Posts tagged 'information'

Fri Mar

2013

Dastardly Digital Dilemmas: 6) Heresy

Posted by Mark Merifield in Managing information

OK, let’s get it out there.

I don’t want to manage information.

I really don’t.

And I’m sure many of you out there will agree with me.

I support government in managing information and ensuring the historical record, so I’m an information creator and user and an information professional. I exist in a world of perpetual contradiction…

I’m busy. I spend my days creating, processing, using, sharing, storing and talking information. My team has a way of working, a shared space to capture our work, and delivery channels through which to share it. I know what we’re working on, where it is and what it means to us. It works. For us. Sometimes I want to work on the move, drafting blog posts like this on a mobile device on a train. Sometimes I want remote access to our network so I can access the information my team are working on.

Fri Jan

2013

Six degrees of Kevin Bacon and information management

Posted by Rob Johnson in Managing information

Information management is all about understanding connections.

Web browsing, search engines, metadata, hyperlinks, embedded content, attachments, tag clouds – data rarely exists in isolation anymore, and it’s the job of information managers to ensure that during times of change information assets retain their context and accessibility.

Bacon to information management in six steps (ref. CO 1069/295/88)

Which brings me to the ‘six degrees of separation’: the concept that you are only ever six steps of ‘connection’ from anyone else in the world. A recent TV advert plays on this idea by linking their 4G mobile phone company to actor Kevin Bacon in under 30 seconds, using a series of tenuous connections.

This, of course, gave me an idea… if Kevin Bacon could link himself to mobile phones, can I link him to good digital information management in six steps? And what ‘cautionary tales’ can I bring in along the way?

Let’s find out:

Continue reading »

Thu Nov

2012

New Standard Licence developed

Posted by Judy Nokes in Managing information

Today, we’ve published the beta version of a new standard licence which has been developed for use by public sector bodies which have reason to charge for the re-use of the information they produce or hold. The licence will form part of the UK Government Licensing Framework.

This new licence - under the working title of ‘Charged Licence’ - along with the Open Government Licence and the Non-Commercial Government Licence, will form a suite of ‘specified licences’ provided for in amendments to the Freedom of Information Act by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

The publication of the new licence links in with the Cabinet Office’s consultation on a new Code of Practice under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act, which was launched today, 22 November 2012. The Code of Practice provides guidance to public bodies in meeting their new obligations to make available certain datasets under a specified licence.

At the same time as the Cabinet Office consultation we are seeking views on the new licence, and in particular we would welcome your views on the following:

Do these simplified terms and conditions meet your needs either as a licensor or a re-user?
The working title for the licence is the ‘Charged Licence’. Is there an alternative title you would like us to consider that better describes its purpose?

Wed Oct

2012

To keep or not to keep? Records appraisal and moving house

Posted by Rob Johnson in Managing information

So, last weekend I moved house. The word ‘stressful’ just doesn’t do it enough justice…

Anyone who has moved house will understand that when it comes to the logistics, size really does matter. Because my new home is smaller than the last, I had to ‘appraise’ my belongings to determine their value, and dispose of items accordingly.

As I sat there on a dusty floor with a bin bag, I realised that my home and working lives had suddenly collided…

The process of knowing what you have and how valuable it may be is fundamental to Information Management. Records ‘appraisal’ is a core part keeping an organisation running efficiently – without knowing what value your records hold, useless stuff will clog up your cupboards and servers, whilst useful information remains inaccessible and unexploited.

How did I know what to keep ahead of the big move? Today’s blog is about the types of value Government records and my ‘stuff’ at home may have in common:

Tue Aug

2012

Pistols at dawn?

Posted by Susan Healy in Managing information

That looks very dramatic, doesn’t it? But I assure you that we have very amicable relations with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and have never had to think about, let alone resort to, violence!

However the relationship is complicated because although we occupy some of the same space – we both deal with information in various ways – we are usually doing different things in that space. Take regulation: ICO regulates our handling of personal data and our performance under FOI, but we regulate their performance under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that we might find ourselves simultaneously dealing with a complaint against each other – but fortunately that has not yet happened.

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 May

2012

Dastardly Digital Dilemmas: 2) Shaping our tools

Posted by Mark Merifield in Managing information

We're often faced with issues of missing context

I consider myself to be a sane and rational human being. Friends and colleagues may disagree. However, like most of us, I am a follower of the path of least resistance. I do not seek to make life more difficult for me than it needs to be.

For those of you asking what that has to do with managing records, the answer is ‘everything’. Continue reading »

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?’

Thu Mar

2012

Innovating at The National Archives

Posted by Oliver Morley in Technology and innovation

Colossus electronic digital computer, 1943 (Catalogue ref: FO 850/234)

I hope by now that you’re starting to get the idea that The National Archives is a bit of a dark horse when it comes to innovating in technology. We have, as far as I can tell, won more technology awards for more separate projects than anyone in the public sector except for the NHS, and we’re a little smaller. This culminated in a Queen’s Award for Enterprise and Innovation last year for our digital preservation technologies across all sectors and a public sector digital award for legislation.gov.uk. It doesn’t stop there – we also innovate in education, and the physical preservation of our collection, saving a lot of energy in the process.

So I thought it might be interesting to describe my view on our approach. I’ll look at technology, cost, and culture.

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.

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