Records Management and Archival Appraisal

Records Classification and Scheduling as tools for Archival Appraisal in the British Columbia Government, 1985-1996

These articles describe the development of British Columbia’s integrated system of records classification and scheduling system as a tool for archival appraisal during the years of my involvement (1985-1996). During 2010, a request from a UBC archival studies student (a visitor from China) prompted me to locate and scan these conference proceedings and presentations. At the outset, the BC system was based upon the Government of Canada’s block numeric system of records classification.

What made the BC system unique is that we were the first jurisdiction in Canada (or even North America?) to integrate the records classification and scheduling components into a single manual. Prior to 1987 when the first edition of British Columbia’s Administrative Records Classification System (ARCS) was distributed, records classification systems and records schedules had been published as two separate manuals. This collection of papers, including the final articles by archivist colleague Susan Hart and former Director Reuben Ware, is being made available here for purpose of historical research.

My thanks to former Director Reuben Ware and archivist colleagues Gary Mitchell, Debra Barr, and others for their review and comments relating to these presentations. In addition, there was a whole legion of records analysts (including several UBC MAS graduates) who participated in the often heated discussions that ultimately resulted in BC’s integrated system.

Walter Meyer zu Erpen, Archives and Records Consultant (January 2011)

Walter Meyer zu Erpen The British Columbia Records Management Program’s Integrated Records Classification and Scheduling System (ARMA Conference Proceedings, Edmonton, 1989; 26 pages)
Walter Meyer zu Erpen Report of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Records Management Council on Records Retention and Disposition Scheduling (unpublished paper, 1989; 20 pages)
Walter Meyer zu Erpen Appraisal and Acquisition of Electronic Data Processing Records, published in Archival Appraisal: Theory and Practice (Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the Association of British Columbia Archivists and the Northwest Archivists Association, Vancouver, April 26-28, 1990; 16 pages)
Walter Meyer zu Erpen British Columbia’s Integrated System of Records Classification, Records Scheduling, and Archival Appraisal (unpublished paper, Association of Canadian Archivists annual conference, 24 May 1991, Banff, 1991; 21 pages)
Walter Meyer zu Erpen British Columbia’s Integrated System of Records Classification, Records Scheduling, and Archival Appraisal (email summary prepared for David Richardson, 1992; 2 pages)
Susan Hart Here Be Dragons: Appraisal of Government Records at the British Columbia Archives and Records Service (BCARS) (unpublished paper, Association of Canadian Archivists annual conference, 31 May 1996, Whitehorse; 18 pages)
Reuben Ware Multi-Level Record Systems in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, Canada (unpublished paper, Society of American Archivists annual meeting, 30 August 1996, San Diego; 24 pages)