Proposals for a records management system for Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna

Abstract

FWA is a non-governmental organisation active in the field of heritage preservation. Over the years this organisation has grown from a few volunteers to one which manages a number of heritage sites and has people in its employ. From a record keeping point of view the organisation has been overwhelmed by its growth. A filing system introduced some years ago has failed to meet and keep up with the needs of the organisation. FW A needs to set and implement a record keeping system that will enable it to satisfy business needs and meet wider requirements such as legal obligations and accountability. A proposed records management itenary following the records life-cycle concept has been traced. In doing this the constraints under which FW A operates have been borne in mind. The salient points of the programme are: to take stock, and identify types of records generated and received as a result of the organisation's business activities; regulate the creation and capture of records; set a classification scheme; set retention schedules. The formulation of retention schedules will be an important step as this will regulate what has hitherto been the arbitrary destruction of records. It will also serve to set the mechanism for identifying records of enduring value and the transferring of these to permanent storage, thus laying the foundation for the eventual setting up of FWA's archives.