The role of the records professional

Research conducted by the InterPARES Trust project has addressed challenges relating to trust in a networked and digital context from a variety of perspectives. This chapter will discuss the role of the records professional in this context. ITrust defines records professional as an individual who is trained in all aspects of managing records and information, including their creation, use, retention, disposition, and preservation, and is familiar with the legal, ethical, fiscal, administrative, and governance contexts of recordkeeping. The main focus of and rationale for the existence of a records professional rests on the idea of records as evidence of past activities, and it is this idea that has distinguished the records professional from ancient times to modern days Ensuring accuracy and authenticity of data, documents and records, the control of sensitive information, the maintenance of order and discoverability, and the provision of access are some of the tasks that records professionals see as their role to undertake. The identity of the records professional has to a large degree been constructed as one of a trusted custodian responsible for ensuring trustworthy records and the trustworthy management of records. As the context in which they operate becomes increasingly networked and digital, the complexities faced by records professionals increase in parallel. Globalization has become a force to be reckoned with in its impact on organizations, public administration, businesses and individuals towards multicultural, international and complex collaborative environments which cut across established structures and require new knowledge, competences, skills and mindsets. Records professionals have recognised that there is a need for their identity to be reshaped in the digital context. They have traced a shift of emphasis towards access and use of records, pushed by the agenda of open access and the use of records as raw materials in innovation. Nevertheless, they still stress the need for ensuring the evidential value of records and their long term preservation to enable accountability and transparency.