The Theory of Archives and Records Management

The theory of archives and records management
Ana Rodrigues Lutterbach Márcia

Bachelor of Philosophy, UFMG, Master of Information Science, UFMG, Employee of P
ublic Archives of the City of Belo Horizonte. anamarcialr@hotmail.com
Presents the main concepts of archival science, to discuss how they can guide th
e development of a methodology for the management of archival documents, as well
as identifying the key problems to be overcome for access to archival informati
on. Keywords: Archive, Archiving, Document Management, Information Received 24.0
8.2005 Accepted 20.02.2006
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Perspect. Hist. inf., Belo Horizonte, v.11 n.1, p. 102-117, jan. / abr. 2006
Introduction
The activity called records management, originally coined in English and subsequ
ently translated as document management, there arose the practice and theory of
archives, but a necessity of public administration. Garden (1987) states: [..] t
he public archival institutions were characterized by their organ function stric
tly for scientific research, committed to conservation and access to documents c
onsidered of historical value. In such a conception was opposed, in a dichotomou
s manner, that of 'administrative document', whose problems were considered the
sole purview of the organs of government that produced them and utilizavam1 (p.3
6). From the second half of last century, there is a reorientation of profession
al archivists before the volume of documentary produced: enters the agenda, spec
ifically in North America, where spills over to other Western countries, the rem
oval of documents before they are collected for permanent custody. It formulated
the concept life2 cycle of archive documents. In 1956, the American Schellenber
g publishes its modern Files - principles and techniques in which dedicates the
whole Part II Administration of current archives where the chapters: Control of
the production of documents, Principles of classification, registration systems,
System American Disposal and archiving of documents. This publication opens the
discussion on the current archives and their management. That does not mean tha
t in practice, the current archives have come to be treated based on the precept
s of archival science. The archival institutions continued to treat only the doc
uments of the permanent file and in order to attend the first academic research.
This tradition would promote the detachment of practical management of archival
documents of the theory of files. In Brazil, in 1991, the enactment of Law 8159
, which provides for the national policy for public and private archives and est
ablishing their skills, reinforces the need for greater involvement of the archi
vist with the issues related to management of current records, as she states tha
t the current management of public documents is the competence of archival insti
tutions. From this perspective, it is intended here to identify which are the pr
ecepts of archival science and its significance in management of archival docume
nts and the main difficulties for access to archival information. The archival i
s not a theoretical bound. There are different approaches both from one country
to another as a line of thought to another. As the dimensions of this Article sh
all not allow a further discussion of these tensions, it will try to explain the
key concepts favoring the approach jenkinsoniana Luciana Duranti. Jenkinson's r
escue by Duranti comes to oppose the view that the documents schellenbergiana cu
rrents are distinct from the permanent custody of documents (Tschan, 2002), whic
h leads Schellenberg
1
In English, only the documents are called permanent custody of archives, the gen
eral use they are called records.
The life cycle of the archival material is composed of three stages: current, in
termediate and permanent. The passage of the documents from one phase to another
is determined by an instrument called Temporality Table establishing, endorsing
in a process of evaluating the documents, the time spent in the current phase a
nd intermediate and final destination: the elimination or the file collection pe
rmanent. There are only those documents that fall outside the scope of its produ
cer when it closes down or when changing significantly. Were the documents to pr
ove their existence and define their activities as well as others who contribute
to it.
2
103
proposing that the secondary value of the documents,value for scholarly researc
h, should be the reference in the disposal of documents by the archivists, aimin
g to gather for a permanent guard. Jenkinson considers the file keeps a permanen
t continuation of the current file, condemning the removal of documents by the a
rchivist, for this activity, according to the author, shall be borne exclusively
by the producer of the documents. Jenkinson is guided by administrative value a
nd believes that the documents will never lose the value of information and evid
ence for its creator. The value of secondary documents is accidental, as the Sch
ellenberg sees, and therefore it should not be reference to removals. This reali
zation leads to the Jenkinson formulation of the qualities of impartiality and a
rchives of Authenticity. Unlike Jenkinson and Duranti, search is here, consider
any file, including that produced by a person or family, not only the administra
tive and institutional. Privileging the approach Duranti means, above all, under
stand the file as evidence of the acts of its creator, and the documents to prov
e these acts, whether of a corporate body, private or public, whether of a perso
n. Furthermore, we adopt the perspective of Terry Cook, called póscustodial, whi
ch considers the file beyond its materiality, identifying the source of most doc
uments in the actions that led to the spot where they were produced or where the
y were collected, as intended which will be explicit throughout the discussion t
hat follows. It is noteworthy that, under the conceptual point of view, the elec
tronic archival documents have the same characteristics of traditional documents
.
What is file
Throughout history, the concept of file changed in accordance with the political
and cultural changes that Western societies have lived, the files are a reflect
ion of society that produces it and how to construe also tracks the changes taki
ng place. Factors such as the purpose of the files or the media used have been c
onsidered as defining the file and, today, are not more. Menne-Haritz (1994), fo
r example, notes the emergence of electronic documents as the event that enabled
the archivist to understand what motivates you to evaluate the documentos3 are
not problems of space or cost for storage, but according to the author, is redun
dancy of information (p. 530). Thus, there is no concept of file that is final.
Some authors like Rousseau and Couture (1994, p. 284) have defined as a set of f
ile information, not as a set of documents. Even though there is no doubt that f
ile is a collection of information, it is understood that the term information i
s not illuminating when one wants to conceptualize file. It is understood that t
he archival information should not shy away from its support, even though it is
not readable by the naked eye. Among other reasons for this, is that the authent
icity of archival information depends on a number of references among which was
the medium that contains the information.
3
104
Evaluation with a view to eliminating some of the documents.
Elects here the following definition: file is a set of documents produced and re
ceived in the course of actions necessary for the fulfillment of the default of
a given corporate body, person or family. Schematically we have:
Process of completing the task (subject) collective entity, person or family (ac
tion) functions activities and tasks (subject) (result)
Process of creating the file
Defined mission
Production and reception (action)
Set of documents (result)
What is action, the process of completing the mission, becomes the subject in th
e process of creating the file. The file is then the result of two integrated pr
ocesses. The process of production and reception of documents resulting in the c
ompletion of missão4. In jenkisoniana perspective, this design is that file, anc
hored at the origin of the documents becomes a reference for the treatment of th
e file in its three phases.
The archival principles
The history of the theory of the files begins in 1841, half a century after the
creation of the Archives Nationales de Paris (Schellenberg, 1973, p. 4), with th
e publication of some instructions to archivists, where first appears the respec
t des fonds. In Silva et al. (2002) is an excerpt from the transcript of the ins
tructions in ordre pour la mise et le classement des archives et départementale
communales5: 1st Rassembler fonds par les différents documents,c'est-à-dire de
tous titres former collection Thurs proviennent d'un corps, d'un établissement,
d'une famille d'or un individu, et disposer d'après Un Certain ordre les différe
nts fonds ;[... ] 6. And then: A l'égard des fonds, il a bien comprendre mind th
at ce mode de classement is to meet Thurs tous les titres étaient la propriété d
'un même établissement, d'un même corps or d'une famille, et que les Actes Thurs
y ont rapport ne doivent pas seulement être avec le fonds de confondus cet étab
lissement, ce corps, de cette famille7. (P. 107).
4 The mission of the entity or person that produces a file would be either the r
esult of your activities as your goal. 5
"Instructions for ordering and classification of files departmental and communal
(municipal)."
6
"Re-assemble the various documents for each fund, or form collection of all the
titles that come from a corporation, an institution, a family or an individual,
and have, in a certain order, the various funds; [ ...]". (Translation by the au
thor). "With regard to funds, it should well understand that their way of classi
fication is to gather all the titles that were owned by the same institution, a
single corporation or a family, and that only those records that relate to these
should not be confused with the background of this institution, that body, that
family. " (Translation by the author).
7
105
106
8 This principle also applies when it comes to electronic documentation. At firs
t glance, the name suggests an assumption on the physical ordering of the docume
nts, and initially was. But, in examining the meaning, you can unlink it from th
e support and understanding that the original order is, first of all, how they s
tructure access to documents.
Until the issue of these instructions, the arrangement of the archive resources
in the Archives Nationales was divided into sections based on the following topi
cs: Legislative Section, Administrative Section, Historical Section, Property Se
ction, Judicial Section (Schellenberg, 1973, p. 208). This meant merge documenta
tion from several organs in one set called section. Introducing the concept of r
espect to the funds proposed to allow recovery of information originating from t
he same producer of documents, or proposed to contextualize the information in t
he universe of his creation. Duchein (1982, p.15) uses the image of the archaeol
ogical site to make a comparison didactically interesting to understand the impo
rtance of respect to the funds. He relies on the evolution experienced by the tr
eatment of archaeological sites: until a certain time, a site was found broken a
nd its parts removed and taken to the museums. Was the era of large systems of s
cientific classification. Today, we try to keep the site as he found a way to be
able to identify how and why those pieces are there. The visualization of the c
oncept of archaeological site helps you to realize that by removing parts docume
ntary from its original place, we can destroy information of significance of the
pieces in context and thus destroy the possibility of full understanding of the
documents. But what about the funds, published in French instruction was not pr
operly understood and complied with at the moment. Later, the Germans set two ot
her principles that reflect the respect des fonds: the principle of provenance,
which is often treated as synonymous with the principle of respect for funds, an
d maintenance of the original order. More recently is defined as the principle o
f integrity and indivisibility. The theoretical basis for working files have an
axis in the three principles mentioned whose settings can be considered as follo
ws. According to the Dictionary of Archival Terminology of the Association of Br
azilian Archivists (1996), the principle of provenance is the "principle accordi
ng to which the files originate from an institution or individual must retain th
eir individuality, not being mixed with different origin ( p. 61). This is the f
irst principle that defines a set of documents as a. While other sets of documen
ts are collections of selected items, previously chosen, the set of documents th
at form the file becomes a natural process of accumulation, from the flow of pro
duction / reception of a single subject, whether a corporate body or an person.
The documents are accrued as they are produced as a result of activities that ar
e necessary to carry out the mission of its producer.The principle of maintaini
ng order original8, Duranti (1994b) defines it as a principle of provenance from
the point of view of internal file (p. 57). The original order would be one in
which the documents of the same producer are grouped according to the flow of ac
tions that have produced or received. If the document is the embodiment of actio
ns that occur in a temporal flow, the original order, or rather the order of doc
uments in correspondence with the flow of actions becomes essential to understan
d these actions and, therefore, to understand the meaning of the document.
Sousa (2003) discusses the role of the principles of provenance and of maintaini
ng order in the original classification of files in common use: [...] We can und
erstand the principles of respect for the funds and the original order as princi
ples of division or classification of natural because they are essential attribu
tes and continuous set (file) to be divided. [...] The origin [of] the set of do
cuments is their indelible mark, inseparable, is what gives intelligibility and
identity. (P .251). And later: The other principle that underlies the actions of
the classification of archival information is the principle of original order.
For Rousseau and Couture (1998, p .83), this linkage is represented, including t
he name adopted for the principles: the principle of first-degree and second deg
ree provenance of the principle of provenance. The latter aims to respect or rec
onstitution of the internal order of the fund. (P. 257). Thus, the principle of
maintenance or restoration of the original order is the principle source of the
second degree, ie the origin of the document item, which is the action that gene
rated it will provide its identity. The principle of indivisibility and integrit
y has always been implicit to the principle of respect for money, but it is one
of the recent publications of the Brazilian Heloisa L. Bellotto (2002) found tha
t shaped his definition: "the funds of the archives should be preserved without
dispersion, mutilation, alienation, destruction, unauthorized or improper additi
on ...". (P. 21). Considering about the provenance of the documentary series and
the original order (provenance of each document) as critical to the processing
of files, it is evident that the dispersion of documents may compromise the read
ability of the file.
The features intrinsic to the file
The archival principles set forth three characteristics intrinsic to the file th
at can be designated as: the uniqueness of the producer's file, the membership o
f the documents to actions that promote the mission definida9 and dependence of
the documents of its peers. The uniqueness of the producer of the file takes pla
ce in accordance with respect to the origin. It has to be a set of documents tha
t were produced and received by different subjects does not constitute a file. T
he relationship between the producer - an entity, person or family - and the fil
e provides the identity of the set of documents and their uniqueness is essentia
l. The uniqueness of the producer also determines the uniqueness of the file its
elf. Even though there are two entities with the same mission tasks and activiti
es whose functions are defined in the same way, they will not generate files ide
ntical. The handbook published by the Association of Dutch Archivists provides a
n assumption that supports this perspective: "Each file has, so to speak, its ow
n personality, individuality
9
It is emphasized that the actual outcome of the mission often becomes a document
file when it is given by the producer, the character of the sample or model for
future actions. As an example, it can be quoted a publisher's books or products
of an industry of consumer goods not perishable. The literature does not discus
s these archival documents, but archivists in general, understand that from the
time that the producer gives the file reference value to items that originate in
carrying out their mission, these items become your documents file.
107
peculiar, with which it is essential to familiarize yourself the archivist prior
to his ordination "(1960, p.13). The International Council on Archives, to edit
the standard for description of files - ISAD (G) indicates procedures based on
archival principles without establishing a fixed structure of the organization o
r establish codes and titles. Each file always deserve an analysis, planning and
treatment to its own conformation.Membership of the document to the action tha
t produced or received takes place in accordance with respect to maintaining the
original order or respect for the internal origin. It has to be purchased or pr
oduced a document received for reasons unrelated to the functions of the subject
activities tasks that accumulates is not defined as a document file. This affil
iation of the document to the activity that generated identity gives him individ
ually and in small groups. The document embodies the action and, therefore, iden
tifies what is the action that generated it. The dependence of the other documen
t created for the same mission that generated based on the principle of integrit
y and indivisibility. One has to achieve the mission of an entity, person or fam
ily is a process consisting of several actions that generate documents. If you k
eep one or another document and eliminate the others, this document would only b
e a document that belonged to the producer of that file, it could not consider i
t an archive of its producer. But would not the multiplicity of documents the de
termining factor for the file provides its meaning. For instance, if an entity b
egan the execution of a task and cut off with the production / reception of only
one document, this document could be said that the file of the organization dis
banded. Thus, allowing a single document to be considered is the fact one file h
ad not been eliminated information related to it in other documents, is that the
file had not been mutilated, is the fact that the document had not been separat
ed originated from the other performing the same mission. The expression of thes
e three features as a condition for defining a set of documents to file and to d
efine a document in isolation as archival.
The qualities of the file and its documents
The call quality of the file assume the role of guiding the treatment of files.
Are desired qualities in a file, but not decisive, as are the three characterist
ics, to define a set of documents as a. Luciana Duranti (1994b) defines five qua
lities of the file or documents. They are: unity, cumulative, organicity, impart
iality and fairness. There is then, also through other authors, as these qualiti
es are defined and their justification. Oneness - "nevertheless form, genre, typ
e, or support, the archive documents retain their uniqueness, depending on the c
ontext in which they were produced." (BELLOTTO, 2002, p. 21). In other words, du
plicate documents are not necessarily the same.
108
Oneness refers to the relationship of each document with the action that generat
ed it. Its specificity would be the focus of duplicate documents (copies) found
within the same file, but because different subsets documentary produced or rece
ived in the performance of different actions. If the membership of the documents
indicates that the action is the action that gives identity to the document, is
that the content of the document should not be considered to be identified with
in a set of documents, but the context of its production. Cumulatividade10 - Bel
lotto (2002) defines the cumulative so she calls the quality of the accumulation
of Birth "documents are not collected but accumulated naturally in the course o
f action, on an ongoing and progressive." (P. 25). Items documentary of a file a
re not predetermined to be accumulated, they accumulate as they are produced. Bu
t a good cumulative, that which promotes the perfect organic file, takes place w
hen the documents are organized according to the development of actions, when th
e flow accumulation accompanies the flow of actions that create the documents. T
his hardly takes place entirely without an action-oriented purpose. What will gu
ide this action is called the Classification Plan which constitutes the main act
ivity of the management of documents in current use. Organicism - If a file cons
ists of a set of documents that originate from coordinated actions in support of
the mission of an entity, has been that it results in an organic whole whose pa
rts are interrelated to provide the sense of the whole. The organic file takes p
lace through the accumulation of documents. A file always has an organization, t
he activities themselves eventually bring some order to the documents generated.
But the accumulation based on a Classification Plan, correspondingly to the flo
w of development actions,so that the interrelationships between the functions w
ork activities reflect on the documents, this accumulation causes the file refle
cts on the whole, the mission accomplished. Impartiality - Jenkinson was the one
who sets it. His perspective is one of the files produced by public entities or
private The concept of Fairness suggests that the document is born by a levy on
the nature of the activities of an institution, not because there was a choice
of having a document to this or that purpose . The impartiality of the documents
refers to the ability of the documents accurately reflect the actions of its pr
oducer. The author emphasizes the truth of the administrative document and not t
he truth of its contents. The reason for creating a document, regardless of its
content or not, say, a fraud, it would be legitimate in terms of its relationshi
p with the activities of the entity that created it. We conclude that the impart
iality of the documents is intrinsically related to organic file. Good Ogana pro
motes its subsets of documents to be faithful mirrors the activities and promote
s the file as a whole, the mirror of the mission undertaken by the producer of t
he file. Authenticity - At first glance, the term Authenticity suggests that it
refers to the veracity of the contents of an archive file as evidence under the
law. However, to analyze this concept means that it is above all a question arch
ive, because it
10
It is necessary to implement this concept for electronic documents because its a
ccumulation is reflected in the form provided access to the document and not the
physical ordering of documents.
109
Implicit is the integrity of the fund file. Jenkinson was the one who made the p
roposition of Authenticity also from the perspective of public administrations a
nd private with a view, as any archivist of his time, standing guard files. Sinc
e it was understood that the impartiality with respect to the truth of administr
ative documents, ie the fact that the documents themselves constitute a faithful
reflection of the activities developed, it is seen that the Authenticity depend
s on the maintenance of impartiality. Jenkinson identifies the possibility of su
ch guarantee in the continuum of creation, maintenance and custody by the produc
er. In the middle of last century, Schellenberg said that it is not possible to
maintain the uninterrupted custody of modern archives. However, it is important
to understand that the files are subject to losing its organization, Fairness an
d Authenticity is processed and preserved rather loosely. Campbell (2003) thus p
oints out the danger of loss of the interrelationships of documents: If the arch
ival documents are devoid of autonomy, ie, withdraw its authenticity their relat
ions with other units that comprise the ensemble, under the principle of that go
verns the assignment, any intervention to break his balance originating ultimate
ly "implode" the file itself. The lack of autonomy of the document, which the au
thor refers, relates to the dependence of the document file from the others that
are related to him and his affiliation with the activities that generated it. E
ach document will find its meaning within the set to which it belongs since it m
aintained the organic file.
The management of archival documents
From the perspective of archival, document management is "a set of measures and
routines in order to rationalize and streamline the creation, processing, classi
fication, use and evaluation of primary files" (Dictionary of archival terminolo
gy, 1996). Sousa (2003, p. 240) considers the classification as a crucial measur
e in the management of files. The classification of documents determines and is
determined by other activities that comprise the Document Management. It was det
ermined, among the authors of the archival, the classification of documents is c
alled a permanent arrangement. When one uses the term classification, he refers
to the current archives. Along these lines, to better delineate the discussion t
hat follows will discuss the management of archival documents focusing on their
classification. According to the Dictionary ... (1996), classification is the "s
equence of operations that, according to the different structures, functions and
activities of the producing agency, seek to distribute documents from a file" (
p.16). Schellenberg in 1956, defined the three elements of the classification of
public documents: "a) the action to which the documents relate; b) the structur
e
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Perspect. Hist. inf., Belo Horizonte, v.11 n.1, p. 102-117, jan. / abr.2006
organ that produces them, and c) the subject of the documents "(2004, p. 84). Th
e author explains each one: "An action can be treated in terms of functions, act
ivities and events (transactions)" (p. 84). And "The second element to be observ
ed in the classification of documents is the organization of creative entity. [.
..] The structure is printed to a body [...]" (p. 86). Schellenberg is separate
from the classification by subject as it relates to archival documents not ident
ifiable within the files of public bodies. It is considered that the recommendat
ions of the author may be also applied to the files of private or individual: Wh
ile the public documents, generally, should be grouped according to the organiza
tion and function, will make will be the exception to this rule for certain type
s documents, such as those that do not come from government action or positive a
re not bound by it. Included in these documents folders and reference informatio
n. [...] Only in exceptional cases the public documents should be classified in
relation to issues that arise from the analysis of a particular field of knowled
ge. These exceptional cases refer to research materials, reference and the like.
(P. 92). The interpretation of the meaning of the document is in the context of
its creation is reinforced by A. C. Rodrigues (2005), when discussing the treat
ment of archival documents: [...] The files keep records of actions and events a
s evidence of management that produced them, which are natural products. [...] T
he file is formed by a process of natural accumulation, which means it has the s
pecial attribute of being an organic and structured, where its content and meani
ng can be understood only in that it can connect the document to its wider conte
xt of production, functional origins (p. 5). Sousa (2003) points out many proble
ms in the current archives of the Brazilian public administration derived from t
he lack of a well-defined methodology for classification. They quote a few excer
pts of their work, seeking to identify the archival principles that underlie the
author's observations: The files assembled in job sectors are archival collecti
ons consisting of active documents, semi-active and inactive, mixed with others
and subject to elimination documents are not organic, they are not considered an
d file that are produced or received outside the framework of the missions of an
organization (p. 258). The initial reference to the absence of transfer and col
lection of documents related to the concept of life cycle of documents, in fact,
is not supported in archival principles despite being widely accepted by the au
thors of treatment manuals file. Then, the author refers to the presence of non-
organic papers mixed in with others. It also undermines the very concept of file
and the principle of maintaining the original order or domestic origin. Or
111
That is, the document that did not result from activities that comprise the miss
ion of its producer has no organic relationship with others and, therefore, is n
ot an archival document. It has no affiliation with the character of actions. An
d later: The organization, if any, is based on empiricism and improvisation. The
methods range from the fragmentation of files on the matter, the filing by docu
mental11 species, for upon receipt and dispatch by numbering etc. [...] There ar
e cases where such work is done by librarians. They create classification codes
based on logic and methodology of his profession. Generally have the documents b
y subject or by name by which they are known and apply the decimal encoding of t
he extracted method Mevil Dewey. One of the main characteristics of these instru
ments is the fragmentation of documentary units. Thus, treating each document in
dividually, like books or periodicals. (P. 259). The author identifies the implo
sion of the file, says Campbell as quoted in the previous rows. The organic is l
ost through the fragmentation of documentary units. It is identified in this rep
ort the breach to the principle of integrity and also the quality of cumulative,
since the organization by type documentary or upon receipt and dispatch, inevit
ably, get the documents in their natural order. Perdese reference that explains
the interrelationship of the documents, the document is decontextualizes ignorin
g their dependence on others to provide meaning. Sousa continues: In recent year
s,with the advance and the trivialization of microcomputer, has increased signi
ficantly the number of documents on computer media. [...] Usually, they are not
considered archival documents, although they were produced or received in the fu
nctions and activities of the organs. Remain generally in sectors that have accu
mulated. In some cases, they are called technicians and are sent to libraries an
d documentation centers (p. 261-262). We see here also the non-observance of the
principles of provenance and internal integrity or indivisibility. Even if the
physical storage of certain documents is done in separate, for example, conserva
tion issues, the dependence of the other documents that were produced and receiv
ed in the course of activities for the mission should be explained in a research
instrument of so as not to lose the organic nature of the file. When you pull t
ogether documents to which they belong, alters the meaning of these and other do
cuments produced jointly with them. And: [...] The provision of documentation av
ailable in sectors of employment of these organs is invariably abandoned
11
112
Species Documentary configuration that takes a document according to the disposi
tion and nature of information (1) contained therein. (Dictionary of archival te
rminology, p. 34).
deposits accumulated masses documentary. [...] The solutions are summarized in m
any cases, the microfilm without predefined criteria. Transferred to other media
clutter exists in original holders. It is observed today, replacing this proces
s by scanning (p. 264). This question points to a common misconception: to provi
de a means of preserving the documentation if the problem is thus solved archiva
l. Documents and whose information related to them are not represented in a surv
ey instrument can be considered non-existent because it is not possible to exami
ne item by item. It is seen that many problems can be avoided if the archival pr
inciples are observed in the organization of files. He presents as urgent to cle
arly define a consistent methodology that can organize any current file, regardl
ess of the peculiarities of each, whether public or private. Alongside the deman
d for a more consistent methodology for document management in corporate bodies,
archival theorists are asked to rethink their developments in order to provide
answers to questions that arise with the advent of so-called information age. It
is believed that from the definition file can arrive at a definition of archiva
l information: archival information is that which can be extracted from a set of
documents where these have been produced or received in the course of actions n
eeded to achieve the mission of a certain predefined corporate body, person or f
amily. Thus, it identifies two levels of information in the file as Garden and F
onseca (1998) argue, would be: • the information contained in the document file
in isolation;
and the information contained in the file itself, what the • whole in its form,
its structure reveals about the institution or the person who created it (p. 371
). Recognize two levels of archival information means that for the preparation o
f a Plan for Classification of documents you need to prioritize one of them: eit
her the content or provenance of the documents. Respecting the archival principl
es, in enabling access to information contained in archival documents should not
affect access to information about the origin of the document. From the Schelle
nberg, the manuals have guided the organization of documents in current use in a
structure that mirrors the development of the functions, activities and tasks t
hat generate documents. In corporate bodies, it identifies, in general, a series
of functions that are carried out through a number of activities which are real
ized in the implementation of a set of tasks. Thus, the plan of classification o
f documents is structured in a hierarchical chain so that the higher levels refl
ect the functions
113
developed to fulfill the mission of the organization; the second level, the acti
vities needed to perform each function of the first level, and the third level,
the tasks involved in each activity.Within these third levels are ordered the d
ocuments in the most appropriate criterion tipo12 to that document. This classif
ication is called functional. And the guidance for the organization in order to
access to documents of permanent custody is also structured in a hierarchical ch
ain whose first level identifies the producer of the file, the level or levels c
orrespond to the following organizational structure, when it exists, and the sub
sequent levels reproduce the rating received during the current use. This organi
zation is called the arrangement and classification is called organizational / f
unctional. Rodrigues, based on the proposal by Luciana Duranti, tends to regard
as most appropriate parting of identifying document types to carry the classific
ation. Says the author: The correct definition of the types of documents, consid
ered in light of its context of production is of fundamental importance to defin
e their classification, value for conservation and use or disposal. In the tradi
tional view of archives, to the knowledge of the genesis of the document, the an
alysis should proceed from the general to the particular organ for the waste mat
erial from the exercise of its powers, that is the document that circulates and
is accumulated in the file. This is an axiom for a segment of archival theory in
the area, but which has become the subject of reflection among professionals wh
o study the theoretical issues of methodological nature proposed by the contempo
rary diplomatic, also called the document type. (2002, p. 47). This methodology
part of the examination of each document or set of documents already produced to
then examine the genesis him. It is pointed out as a possible result of applyin
g this methodology, the risk of non-compliance of the quality of Oneness of docu
ments. A copy of a document produced by a certain department of an entity that i
s received by another department, you can take on new meaning and receive a diff
erent classification of the original document. Examine the functions, activities
and tasks for elaborarse the classification of documents produced by them may b
e the safest approach to ensure representation of all actions of the producer of
the documents. In the archives of the standing guard in public archival institu
tions, the demand for documents decontextualized content, or for information con
tained in documents regardless of the action that generated them, is common and
frequent. The practice has been, for example, in the Public Archives of the City
of Belo Horizonte, a selection based on organizational arrangement, made with t
he aid of the clerk of the consultation room, and the search for information, do
cument by document.
114
Document Type: Configuration that assumes a kind documentary, according to the a
ctivity that generated it. (DICTIONARY typology archival, p. 74).
12
Promote easy access to decontextualized content has proven to be an unattainable
goal. The manuals for organizing files deal with indices, for example, as a res
ource for accessing the documents. However, the volume of documentary permanent
files is always a prodigy. Increase their access through the arrangement, which
is the priority, is a task that has required much time and human resources, beca
use in general, the documentation that is collected archival institutions has re
ceived, source, a functional classification. In the files of current use, in gen
eral, the documents are sought by his character evidence of the acts. Personnel
can only say that there is potential demand for content decontextualized. That d
oes not mean that the search for resources that provide access to decontextualiz
ed information is less of a concern among archivists. See if the dialogue with i
nformation science as the way to develop these archival resources. Fonseca (2005
) manifests itself in relation to this issue: Lack of awareness of the interdisc
iplinary relationships between these two areas of knowledge is provocative, to t
he extent that such relationships seem fairly obvious, when it identifies inform
ation as a central element of the set of objects that they both occupy. (P.10).
Seeking to understand this difficulty is pointed out initially that each has its
own issues, responsible, to be solved. For example, your object. But that has n
ot prevented them to develop as areas of knowledge. Valley, then check the main
difference in approach to management. As stated above,the archival part of the
reason for creating the document to develop the tools to access information. As
for information science, as found in Marchiori (2002), the starting point for in
formation management is the demand (p. 75). Assess how these two perspectives ca
n be integrated seems crucial to promote the desired cooperation. Within the for
egoing, it is identified that has archival resources which can provide a theoret
ical basis for the development of a methodology for classification of archival d
ocuments that allows easy access to archival information contained in the file i
tself, what the whole in its form in its structure, reveals about the institutio
n or the person who created it. This classification also allows access to inform
ation contained in the document from a selection based on the context of product
ion of the file. Moreover, the principles, characteristics and qualities of the
files are not suitable as a basis for building a search system that allows the s
election of documents by content decontextualized, although these constructs sho
uld be considered in this case, so that systems Search by content does not promo
te the loss of reference to the origin of the documents.
115
Archival theory and records management
The purpose of this paper is to present the main concepts of archival science in
order to discuss how Can These concepts help build the methodology for document
s management, as well as identify the main problems to Be Overcome in Accessing
archival information. Key-words: Archives; Achival science; Records management;
Information.
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117

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