Role of Librarians in implementing an EDRMS
Case study on the role of librarians in implementing an Electronic Documents and Records Management System
The following describes the involvement of DfES Librarians in the development of the Department’s Electronic Documents and Records Management System (EDRMS).
Librarians were part of the selection team for the EDRMS software and our role has gradually expanded, as the work has developed from the pilot to full rollout with teams across the Department.
Our focus has been on the design of the Corporate File Plan (CFP) and the use of the Departmental thesaurus in the EDRMS. We evaluated the search and keyword functionality and worked with suppliers to develop the system.
We have provided written guidance on how to create a CFP and have given workshop presentations to Information Managers, guiding them through the structure and the technology. We have followed this up with quality assurance of the draft CFPs and one-to-one advice.
Similarly we have provided guidance and training to Information Managers on how to select and add keywords to the CFP using the DfES Thesaurus. Library staff drafted the keywords for the initial CFPs and agreed new terms for the thesaurus with Information Managers. This process has given Information Managers further experience in the use of keywords so that they can be responsible for future keywording. Library staff will provide ongoing support for Information Managers.
Library staff have also been involved in supporting a network of Senior Information Managers and managing a Community for all Information Managers which provides a facility for raising issues and sharing good practice.
This work has been resource intensive, but the CFP structures and the keywords we use, will have long ranging impacts on the work of the Department, and the usefulness of the EDRMS for future information retrieval. As such, we consider it to be a very important project and our involvement will help us to ensure consistency of information practice across the Department.
The Library has always maintained the Departmental Thesaurus, which is now playing a key role in the EDRMS project, as well as being used on the Departmental Internet and Intranet pages.