Overview
Overview
With technology generating a seemingly infinite amount of data and information, there is demand for professionals who can appraise, preserve and share this wealth of material and knowledge.
In this course you will learn how to manage and preserve records and archives, and design recordkeeping systems suitable for data management within government, corporate and not-for-profit organisations.
You will critically analyse recordkeeping systems as instruments and facilitators of power, accountability, identity, memory and social justice. You’ll learn how to apply this knowledge in practice to ensure the efficient and ethical management of information.
A three-week practicum placement within an archives or records centre will provide you with valuable hands-on experience.
This course can be a pathway to the Master of Information Management.
Please refer to the handbook for additional course overview information.
*Please note that offshore international students enrolling in this course can only study it fully online. This course is not available to onshore international students.
What jobs can the Records Management and Archives course lead to?
The future of libraries, archives and records
The ever-growing volume of information and data requires professionals who not only have the skills to acquire, design, manage, access, curate and preserve information, but also the ability to contextualise information so it’s used ethically and meaningfully.
Our graduates work in a range of information-related careers with responsibilities that include community and stakeholder engagement, program development, metadata and classification, information systems design and digital recordkeeping.
Career fields
- Corporate and government records management
- Local, state and national archives
- Community archives
- Family and local history
- Museum archives
- Digital preservation
What you'll learn
- understand the disciplines of records management and archives, their theoretical underpinnings, ways of thinking and professional approaches; understand and apply in practice established and developing knowledge and professional practice
- apply logical and rational processes to analyse the components of an issue; think creatively to generate innovative solutions to records management and archival issues, including conservation and preservation
- understand the nature of information and how information is created, organised, distributed and used in the records and archives sectors; apply best practice in servicing the needs of information users; locate and evaluate information resources and manage collections effectively
- communicate appropriately with information users and colleagues; assess the information needs of information user groups in the records management and archives sectors; and undertake training in basic corporate information management and archives systems
- assess the impact of emerging technologies on the work of the records management and archives professional; learn the technologies relevant to information creation, organisation, dissemination and use; decide on appropriate applications and systems for specific information service needs
- apply a range of learning strategies; take responsibility for one's own learning and development; sustain intellectual curiosity
- think globally and consider issues from a variety of perspectives; apply relevant international standards, tools and practices to the professional practice of records management and archives
- recognise individual human rights, including rights of free access to information; appreciate the importance of cultural diversity and the sensitivities which may be created when disseminating information to diverse user groups; value diversity of language and how this may be fostered in services offered by records management and archives professionals
- apply as appropriate the professional skills of records managers, corporate information managers, archivists and other information professionals; work independently and in teams; demonstrate leadership; understand and demonstrate professional behaviour; understand issues in the ethical use of information and demonstrate how ethical practices may be followed in the workplace; understand and apply major tools for information organisation, metadata creation and indexing and recordkeeping throughout the continuum to ensure efficiency and compliance
