‘Without the Data, the Tools are Useless; Without the Software, the Data is Unmanageable’ 1

Abstract

Tim O'Reilly is one of the gurus of the contemporary information-laden landscape. From the perspective of one of his aphorisms this essay explores the relationship between the curation of information in the digital environment by archivists and records managers and the technologies that support it. The author argues that this will require a sharing of responsibility within a framework of trust. He maintains that a consequence of the financial crisis, in which technology has played a large contributing part, is that there will be a greater emphasis on transparency of electronic processes and not just inputs and outputs. In these developments he draws a distinction between records management operating within an institutional framework of risk, and the archive, particularly in the public sector, curating the records that will allow the executive to be brought to account. He concludes that such a restatement in a period of severe financial restraint will without doubt impact on the current ‘access’ agenda.