At the second half of 1990’s, we realized the importance of archives, and consequently new legislation, which is [Records Management of public institution Act], raised in 1999, and the enforcement ordinance was proclaimed early in 2000 in order to s...
At the second half of 1990’s, we realized the importance of archives, and consequently new legislation, which is [Records Management of public institution Act], raised in 1999, and the enforcement ordinance was proclaimed early in 2000 in order to systematically produce, collect, and manage archives. After then, this legislation was revised as the Public Records Management Act in 2006. For this, we have had a foundation that the state institutions can collect and preserve records produced from a public institution as well as some private archival things that are public or are judged as valuable to permanently preserve at a national level. These regulations exist, but among the metropolitan councils in Korea, there is no one who establishes and operates a permanent archives management agency according to the law. Thus, it is necessary to systematically collect and control the important records to bring together and handle with a high quality of archives when the agency is set up in the future.
Based on that, this study aims to discuss a plan about the fact that it is urgent for us to formulate an archival collection policy for the metropolitan council to gather archives systematically. In order to that, as a theoretical study, we examined a function and role of the record management institution of the metropolitan council, investigated the elements of an archive collection policy, and analyzed a case of the collection policy that domestic and foreign local governments have established.
On a basis of the analysis result, we suggest seven plans of the collection policy.
First, the government must set up a collection policy because there are only two that have the policy among the national archives and records institutions of the Korean Metropolitan Councils.
Second, it should include six elements, such as the mission and purpose of making a collection, the scope of the collected records, the priority and exception to collect, the targeted users for records, service programs, and the collecting procedures at the lowest estimate that a majority of the archives and records institutions have regulated in a study of the archival collection policy that twelve of domestic and foreign archives and records institutions have established.
Third, it needs to regulate that the mission and purpose of making a collection and the scope of the collected records out of those elements are responsible for collecting and preserving the historically and permanently valuable records to preserve among local public and private records. So, it should prescribe a wide range of collecting the records for its mission and purpose.
Fourth, the government should provide an exact regulation about the first priority collectable records that are regarded as the most important in the archives and records institutions and the collection exceptions that the institutions don’t gather because it can thoughtlessly collect records if there is the widely prescribed scope of the collected records.
Fifth, in order to collect the records from any collectors who don’t want to donate archival things, the government needs to make a contract with them by purchasing them or requesting commission management and provide the process to donate in detail for users who want to donate.
Sixth, it should clearly define the fact that the right of ownership and copyright for the records that any collectors donate would be transferred to the archives and records institutions because it is possible to have a problem about these rights. Also, it must prescribe a legislation related to the records including any sensitive information such as personal information within a collection policy.
Seventh, it has to provide a variety of service programs, such as the experience or a field trip of the archives and records institutions to make users feel a sense of intimacy toward the institutions and prescribe the service that the institutions provide within a collection policy.