Papers by Rick Barry previously in this section that were published
earlier than 2001 have been transferred to the Other Papers
section.
Use of papers by Rick Barry. Use of any papers on this site to sell
requires the prior written approval of the author. For use of individual papers,
except where specifically noted that a paper may not be reproduced without
the prior written consent of the author, e.g. the "Report on the Society
and Archives Survey," visitors may make use of other papers by R. E. Barry (only)
with attribution to the
author and this website and, where applicable, the print media where they were
originally published. University students are permitted to use multiple papers
by the author for classroom purposes and papers with appropriate citation and
attribution to the author and this website. Use of papers in published books
requires prior written permission of the author. Papers by other authors require their
individual, prior written permission to reproduce.
"Attack on Pearl Harbor: A Brother's Story",
July, 26, 2011. This article is a revised and updated excerpt from my earlier "Barry
Family Journal".
"Giving
it away…about giving it away", a checklist reflecting a personal
experience in donating a family letter to the National
World War II Museum, published in the Society
of Archivists Business Archives Section Newsletter, February 2011.
NHPRC: Testimony to the
House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government," June 14,
2011. Email testimony in support of the reinstatement of National
Historical Publication and Research Commission's budget, at least to the
previously authorized level of $10 million.
"Keeping Records in Changing Organizations," in Controlling
the Past: Documenting Society and Institutions, (Essays
in Honor of Helen
Willa Samuels), Terry Cook, Editor, p.195-216, Society
of American Archivists, 2011, pp.434.
"Barry Family Journal",
a
personal and ongoing exercise in personal electronic records.
"Opinion
piece – electronic records: now and then,"
the
opening paper of the Records Management
Journal of the UK in its 20th anniversary issue, vol. 20, no. 2
2010.
Finding
aid and descriptive information for documents, many in electronic form
including email, contributed by Richard Barry to the World Bank Archives on the
occasion of his retirement from the Bank, where he served as chief of office
systems and chief of information services. These documents were related to his
role as chairman of the UN Advisory Committee for Coordination of Information Systems
(ACCIS), Technical Panel on Electronic Records Management (1987-1990) and other
subjects. The ACCIS Panel produced the report, Managing Electronic
Records, Issues and Guidelines, published by the UN Sales Office,
publication GV.E.89.9.15, N.Y., 1990. The documents were subsequently
converted to paper form.
"Exploring the Essence of
Records Management, Engaging with Experts: Proceedings" a review of
the book by the same title Edited by Susan Childs, Susan Heaford and Julie
McLeod, 2006. The
conference adopted a novel and effective "witnessing" approach to its
structure. This paper is a pre-publication version of a paper that was published in the Records
Management Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2006;
Emerald Group Publishing Limited,
Bradford, UK, pp. 57-66, and is published here with the kind permission of the
publisher.
"Managing Electronic
Records",
a review of the book by the same title, edited
by Julie McLeod and Catherine Hare in the context of a literature review of the
topic: managing electronic records.
This paper is a pre-publication version of a paper that was published in the Records
Management Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2006;
Emerald Group Publishing Limited,
Bradford, UK, pp. 57-66, and is published here with the kind permission of the
publisher.
"NHPRC:
Testimony to The House Committee on Appropriations",
May 25, 2006 testimony in support of restoration and increase in the budget of the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
"Overcoming Barriers to Major Users in Accessing Electronic Records: Results of a survey on Electronic Records Policy Working Group (ERPWG)
Reports", November 22, 2005. This paper reflects results of an independent survey on that "Barriers" and "Recommendations" reports of the ERPWG. Key findings of the survey include:
- There is striking agreement (91%) on the
relevance of the ERPWG reports' findings including other sectors and internationally, suggesting high expectations that NARA will develop solutions adaptable in local/state/private sector organizations and internationally.
- Most
respondents were unaware of the ERPWG reports.
- Fewer than 2%
of respondents and no ARM professionals had commented
to ERPWG.
- Other
related barriers and recommendations are also seen as critical.
- About two
thirds of respondents (86% of respondents requiring almost daily access)
disagree that: agencies that create records (program departments)
understand the respondent's working needs for records.
- About half of
respondents agree that agencies that manage records
understand respondents' working needs for records, but half of those
requiring almost daily access disagree.
- In
addition results on ERPWG findings, other useful information was revealed
from other questions and feedback, e.g.: the need to more formally
identify and systematically reach out to NARA "stakeholder"
communities; and that there was no substantive discussion of ERPWG
findings on principal ARM or historian professional lists.
"Ya
Got Trouble (Right Here in River City)."
This paper formed the
basis for abbreviated remarks made to the staff of the National
Archives and Records Administration, May 20, 2005, on the occasion of
NARA’s celebration of its 20th anniversary of independence. The
extended
paper: addresses challenges ("trouble") facing NARA relating to
changing workpatterns and
the use of new technologies in federal agencies; illustrates how information
technology is being used in other organizations; and poses a vision of how
Web technology might be employed to assist NARA in its outreach to the
public and its research clients. It speaks to the need for change in the
process for nominating new Archivists of the US and the need for study of
the broader community of heritage institutions in the light of changing
technologies and workpatterns and NARA's role in that community.
View the May 20, 2005 webcast of 20th anniversary panel discussion at the
National Archives Building in Washington, DC: Video
Stream 
"NHPRC:
Testimony to The House Committee on Appropriations",
testimony of April 24, 2005, in support of restoration and increase in the budget of the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
"Web Sites as Recordkeeping and Recordmaking Systems",
a paper discussing Web sites as significant organizational records, in The
Information Management
Journal, the professional journal of ARMA
"Ethics
and the Archival Profession: Introduction and Case Studies",
by Karen Benedict; a book review by Rick Barry for the American
Archivist, professional journal of the Society
of American Archivists.
"Ethics and Social Issues for
Creators, Managers and Users of Records," keynote presentation at
the Liverpool
University Centre for Archive Studies (LUCAS) Conference on Political
Pressure and the Archival Record, July 24, 2003. The original presentation
at the LUCAS conference was a slide presentation. This item previously linked to
the slide version of the presentation, which has now been substituted with this
text version written more recently for the Conference Proceedings.
"Heritage
groups challenge George W. Bush nominee for US Archivist: So What?"
by
Rick Barry and Mike
Steemson, a paper discussing issues surrounding the process for
nomination of the new Archivist of the US and some related organizational issues and
international implications.
"Managing
Distinctions: Enterprise Information, Document, Records, Knowledge
and Content Management,"
Hype
or serious trends in the document creation and exploitation? What are the red
flags for information managers, archivists and records managers?
"Saving
the future now: Commentary," a two-part column that appeared in Federal Computer
Week, June 2 and June 9, 2003.
"Nearly everyone knows documents are increasingly 'born digital' —
and often are never even used in paper form. But not everyone realizes that
digital documents constitute public records. Some of those records are only
trivial in value, while others may be needed for a few years. But a very
small portion is of enduring value, important to the 'life of the Republic'
Judgments about which records are trivial and which are substantive are
critical. Serious human rights and public accountability issues are at stake
for the government and the public. Indeed, Eduard Mark, an Air Force
historian, wrote in an April 24 online discussion with other historians that
the system to maintain federal records has 'collapsed utterly'..."
"[NARA's] practice redesign
and ERA program are crucial not only for our federal records system, but also
for state and local governments and business, because they face similar issues
and few have the will and resources to fashion long-term solutions themselves.
It is essential that the president, Cabinet members and members of Congress
provide NARA with the tools necessary to get it right — and that NARA uses
them wisely."
“Electronic Records: Stops down the garden path;
looking over the wall,”
a presentation to the National Academies,
Computer Science & Telecommunications Board (CSTB), Committee
on Digital Archiving and National Archives and Records Administration, February 27, 2003.
(This is a MS PowerPoint™ presentation. It may take longer to load.)
"Report on the Society and Archives
Survey",
29 January 2003
Thank you to the 671
people who completed the Society and Archives Survey in time for a preliminary
report of the results to be sent to several national archivists and their
representatives and other delegates just prior to the Nov 13-16, 2002 ICA-CITRA
meeting. Regrettably, the agenda for the meeting would not permit tabling of the
report or any of its findings for discussion by CITRA member. R.B.
Barry Associates 1-Day Workshop: "Managing Electronic
Records (Advanced)," part
of a year-long workshop series sponsored by the South Carolina State Department
of Archives and History under grant from the National Historical Publications
and Records Commission, October 29, 2002.
Agenda of Topics:
- Important distinctions among enterprise
information, documents, records, knowledge, and content management and related
records management implications
- Recordmaking vs. recordkeeping systems
- Managing email, websites and all that
jazz
- Preparing for new generations of
workers, work patterns and technologies; including special post-911 issues
For a breakdown of the above topics,
see Outline of Topics
"Lessons
from 911 for Community Planning, Safety, Information and Records
Management," Keynote presentation at the Municipal
Association of Victoria, Australia 19 Sep 2002 conference on
"Community Safety & Risk Management Conference". The presentation
summarized Post-911 studies of the 911 terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center and Pentagon, including general emergency response preparedness and
special information and records management issues and lessons learned. [This is
a Powerpointä
presentation that is rich in graphics so may be slow to load for many
viewers.]
"Transacting
e-Business: is RM being passed by?"
Keynote presentation at the Records Management Association of Australia (RMAA)
2002 National Convention, 17 September 2002, Adelaide, Australia. This is a
version of the presentation that was updated subsequent to the submission of the
earlier version in time for the the pre-convention publication of the Convention
Proceedings.
"A
Personal Guide to Detecting and Avoiding Viruses and Hoaxes."
I have observed messages that appeared to have infected
file attachments that got through Internet Service Providers’ (ISP) firewalls
on the rise in recent months. These precipitated questions and often the wrong
responses in many cases on lists I belong to. The below message, or some form of
it, has been posted to such lists when questions were raised about potential
viruses or hoaxes. After the 3rd or 4th time in as many
weeks, replying to such messages on unrelated professional lists, I decided to
write something up and make it available on the Web, so that in future I can
simply refer people to it.
"Technology and the Transformation of the Workplace: Lessons Learned
Traveling Down the Garden Path," opening chapter of Effective Approaches for Managing Electronic
Records and Archives, Bruce W.
Dearstyne, Ed., Scarecrow Press, ISBN
0-8108-4200-9, 2002. View Table of Contents and Editor’s
Preface and American Archivist REVIEW
(Vol. 65, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2002). This
chapter discusses relationships between technology and workplace patterns that
govern how records are created and demonstrates the impact of these
relationships on an organization’s recordkeeping risks and practices,
particularly the growing use of recordmaking systems that are not recordkeeping
systems. The author illustrates
with personal work experiences in information management and technology and
recordkeeping over the past forty years, highlights the impact of changing
technology and work patterns on recordkeeping and fast forwards into the future.
Recent
Papers by Rick Barry