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Research in records management
Edited by David Ryan and Elizabeth Lomas
Introduction
The records management literature is strong on the principles of the discipline, and on how the profession operates within public or large commercial bodies. Much of the discussion relates to the implementation of legislation, which has been a powerful driver. Advocacy at the top of the organisation is recommended as the optimal method of ensuring that programmes are implemented.
Less has been written about the non-governmental or non-commercial sectors. An issue of this journal in 2004 highlighted the voluntary sector in the UK, and some interesting case studies were examined ([6] Dawson et al. , 2004; [17] Wakeling, 2004). Even so, these were of relatively compact organisations. What has not attracted attention, so far, is the situation within religious organisations. This lack of focus is not unique to the records management literature. An earlier study of voluntary organisations concluded that the nature of internal work processes in churches was an area that would reward research ([7] Harris, 1990). Whatever one's personal view on matters of faith, it must be acknowledged that these are large, national, organisations of some complexity. How is records management to be carried out in an organisation with 6,600 units? That was the focus of the research presented here which was undertaken for a recent MSc dissertation.
The aims and methodology of the research
The aim was to investigate to what extent records management is practised at different levels within the Methodist Church of Great Britain, a religious organisation active throughout the UK with a bipolar administration (national and local groupings). Interposed between these two poles, the church is also organised regionally. Besides surveying records management and archival practice within the church, reference was made to the organisation of these matters in other denominations - nonconformist and established. The survey was also concerned with ascertaining how the church intended managing its records in an increasingly electronic environment. Another objective was to identify any particular challenges associated with the practice of records management within a religious environment.
The literature review revealed that very little research has been carried out in this field. No national survey of a British church's recordkeeping had been attempted, with the exception of the small Moravian Church...