Introducing the Information Culture Framework as a Component of the Digital Curator’s Toolkit Fiorella Foscarini Gillian Oliver Faculty of Information School of Information Management University of Toronto Victoria University of Wellington Toronto, Canada Wellington, New Zealand Fiorella.foscarini@utoronto.ca gillian.oliver@vuw.ac.nz Abstract—The purpose of this paper is to promote the notion of standards (e.g., Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) [3]), “information culture” as an integral component of the education high-level system development methodologies (e.g., Design and for digital curation professionals. Understanding the context in Implementation of Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS) [4]), and which digital artefacts are created and used is essential for their rule-based representations of the life of information objects (e.g., meaning to be knowable, communicable, and preservable over the InterPARES 2 Chain of Preservation Model and Business- time. Human beings’ attitudes towards information and the values driven Recordkeeping Model [5]; MoReq2010 [6]). All these they attach to it are an unexplored aspect of such context. The initiatives have enriched our understanding of the digital domain Information Culture Framework (ICF) that is presented here has and have provided ‘solutions’ that are in turn used to define been developed to help organizations assess the ‘soft’ factors that requirements for specific applications (e.g., electronic document enable and constrain their information-related practices. By and records management systems (EDRMS)). applying the ICF, digital curators will be able to shed light on the information culture underlying the objects under their purview, to However, due to their abstract and prescriptive nature, these explain how and why such objects are as they are, and to enhance ‘solutions’ have also contributed to remove us from the understanding of what they meant to their creators and users. ‘problem,’ the actual situation that our optimal models only partly and distantly portray. The notably missing piece of the Keywords: information culture; human activity system; digital puzzle is the ‘human’ component of every human activity system, curation; education where people carry out their purposeful activities through the I. INTRODUCTION information they create [7]. People, processes, and structures are all part of human activity systems, and are inextricably linked Capturing the context in which information objects are one another. However, the first element is often ignored or created and used, that is, understanding why those objects look as misrepresented in the literature we have referred to, as well as in they look, what their purpose was and how they have been used the education provided to information specialists, despite the in specific circumstances, is of paramount importance to recognition of the centrality of the human factor in recent studies information professionals. The archival and records management [8]. discipline has traditionally been concerned with identifying and maintaining trace not just of individual records but also of the Our research set out exactly to tackle the people problem. relationships among them and between each recorded piece of This paper outlines the characteristics of the Information Culture information and the activity generating it. Today, preserving Framework (ICF), an assessment tool that enables the analysis of contextual information has become a top priority more than ever the main influences on the ways individuals and groups in before, as digital objects, being “physically fragmented and only organizations behave and the assumptions they make in relation kept together by a logical boundary” [1], would simply be to the information they create and manage in the course of their inaccessible and meaningless without appropriate sets of daily activities. Being aware of such influences and how they metadata attached to them. affect the features of information objects and systems is a crucial step towards a concrete and situated understanding of the context The models, methods and strategies that have been devised in which those objects and systems are embedded. Before by national and international bodies and research projects discussing the ICF in detail and the benefits that digital curators interested in the survival of our individual and collective may derive from it, we will review the background ideas and memories in digital form have primarily focused on widely preparatory work that led to its development. applicable conceptual frameworks (e.g., Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Model [2]), domain-agnostic II. UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT collectively engaged in the creation and dissemination of One of the most successful research projects in the area of knowledge. digital preservation, the International Research on Permanent III. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND INFORMATION CULTURE Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) project, identified five contexts as instrumental in establishing the By drawing on management and organization theory [10, 11], meaning and properties of every record (including its reliability IS research [12, 13] knowledge management and information and authenticity). These contexts are: the juridical-administrative management [14] and genre theory [15], our study began with an framework in which the record was created; the record’s investigation of the characteristics of organizational culture and provenance (i.e., its origin from a specific creator); the procedure its relationship with other, interrelated supra- and sub-cultures or business process involved in its creation; the documentary that may be found in organizations (e.g., supranational, national, context the record belongs to (i.e., its relationship with any other professional or occupational, and group cultural layers, as records constituting the whole archives of a single creator, and identified by Karahanna and colleagues [16]). One of the most the structure itself of such archives and of every individual cited definitions of organizational or corporate culture is the one aggregation within it); and the technology that was used to create provided by Schein [17], that is: “A pattern of shared basic the record (specifically the hardware, software and operating assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group systems involved) [5]. This description is certainly helpful when as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and it comes to breaking down the complexity of the environment internal integration, that have worked well enough to be surrounding information objects that must be preserved as considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as evidence of activities. the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.” However, in the light of the limitations of existing models discussed earlier, this archival representation of the context is Although interpretations of culture vary, most authors agree insufficient to grasp what actually happened in any specific that values and practices are two critical components of it. instantiations of record making and keeping. Was the legal Typically, values are acquired early on in life through the family framework understood and applied by the users of the records and neighbourhood, and later through education. They provide us system? Can we be sure that the ‘official file’ contains all of the with fundamental assumptions about how things are. Practices records used to carry out any given transaction? How was the are developed through acting together in social contexts (e.g., the available technology used (or not used) by concerned workplace) and ideally reflect our values. Values and practices individuals? Additionally, by considering each of the contexts as are intertwined and tend to affect each other. Both are a distinct factor and by keeping them separate from the actual continuously evolving, although values, especially those acquired objects, processes and human beings involved, the InterPARES during the formative years, are hard to change. Culture at the model fails to account for the interactions and mutual influences national and supranational level (the latter involving language, existing among those elements. religious, ethnic, and regional factors) is mostly influenced by interiorized value systems, while organizational, occupational As argued elsewhere [9], ‘hard’ approaches to information and group cultures appear to be primarily based on shared management, that is, approaches that focus on simplified notions practices. of the ‘problem situation’ because their primary objective is to achieve sustainable, replicable ‘solution’ rather than an Ideas about cultural influences on information-related understanding of what the actual ‘problem’ is, have contributed practices in organizations have been discussed and explored since to build an interpretive framework that excludes or idealizes the the 1980s (see, for instance, 18, 19). Interpretations of human agents that are responsible for constructing our social and information culture are at least as varied as those of organizational worlds. When socio-cultural aspects emerge in organizational culture. Some authors look at it as ‘culture of those studies, they are usually seen as a barrier to the information’ and suggest that organizations that have an implementation of the envisaged solution (whether it is a information culture are more likely to achieve success in their classification tool or a digital recordkeeping system). How to business performance [20]. We maintain there is no organization eliminate or mitigate the effects of human participation in without an information culture, whether the latter is perceived as information-related endeavours seems to be an explicit or being effective or not. implicit goal of much research in this area. Following Oliver’s [21] definition of information culture (i.e., We believe that it is time to start delving into the messy and “the manifestations of organizational culture that portray values complex reality that shapes and is shaped by our information and attitudes to information in organizations”), we embarked on a objects and systems. The concepts of organizational culture and research project to identify its components. The first stages of the information culture can assist us explore the tacit assumptions, project, which involved an analysis of the websites of espoused values and material artefacts and practices that reveal multinational organizations and the design of a global survey, are who we are as culturally and historically situated human beings described in some detail in a recent contribution by these authors and collaborators [22]. The ICF builds on the outcomes of such regional, ethnic, religious, linguistic), national and corporate preliminary research and on observations of information and cultural influences are especially involved. Level one factors records management practices conducted by the authors in have been identified as follows: different organizations. Subsequent stages of the project will • Values accorded to information. In relation to involve fieldwork studies with the aim of refining initial findings organizational functions that involve public by means of qualitative, ethnographic methods. accountability, awareness of the need to manage certain IV. THE INFORMATION CULTURE FRAMEWORK information as evidence will for instance manifest in several forms of respect for the records and the The ICF takes into consideration all possible factors that recordkeeping policies and systems in place. This critical appear to affect the attitudes towards information and the values feature can be further extended as appropriate (for accorded to it in relation to the various cultural layers one may example, awareness of the need to actively manage distinguish within an organization (i.e., from supranational and research data). national characteristics to manifestations of culture at the corporate, occupational and group levels). • Information preferences. This factor accounts for variations in relation to preferences for explicit or Some components of information culture are more amenable implicit forms of communication (words vs. pictures), to change than others. This is an important insight, as synchronous or asynchronous media, formal or informal organizations often try to (and need to) influence people’s sources of information. It also refers to information behaviour with regard to the way they share information, how sharing behaviours and relevant levels of granularity they use existing systems and technologies, and other (e.g., with colleagues in the same workgroup) and information-related practices. By applying the ICF as an perceptions of information ownership. assessment tool, organizations will realize what factors impinge on the achievement of their objectives, and might eventually be • Language considerations. The terminology used by able to come up with more appropriate and effective policies and different groups to name their artefacts and to talk about strategies, targeted at specific aspects of their local information their activities determines the way they see the world; culture(s). and the way the world appears to them shapes their language. What happens when multiple technical languages (e.g., IT and archives) are used in the same place? What happens when one language (e.g., English) becomes dominant in some sectors of society? • Regional technological infrastructure. This factor refers to technological constraints and enablers that are outside of the organization’s control (e.g., Internet availability). II. Information management knowledge and skills that can be acquired and/or extended in the workplace – This layer is placed in the middle of the pyramid because it builds on the fundamental influences at the bottom. Professional education and on-site training play a major role in shaping information culture at the occupational and organizational level. The skills, knowledge and expertise involved can be divided into two broad categories: • Information-related competencies. It includes information and digital literacy as essential prerequisites Figure 1 Information Culture Framework for the development of a diffuse information culture in organizations. In the ICF, the factors involved in the information culture • Awareness of environmental requirements. This factor construct are categorized into three levels according to their measures how employees are familiar with, understand degree of malleability: and apply the legal, societal, and organisational I. Fundamental influences – It is the bottom layer of the requirements that frame information management in their pyramid in Fig. 1 and represents those factors which are so organization or a unit within it (e.g., laws concerning access to information, recordkeeping policies). deeply rooted in human beings and their social institutions that they are extremely hard to change. Supranational (e.g., III. Information infrastructure and trust – At the tip of the ethnographic methods will complement or be part of learning pyramid are two organizational aspects that are highly about the ICF. significant to successful information management and are the Further development work will be necessary in order to build most susceptible to change: standardised case studies and templates to be used to inform • IT governance model in place in the organization. The digital curation practice. One way to contribute to achieving this choice of specific information architecture, security would be to incorporate ICF perspectives in the design of student features, and other technical options (e.g., using or not assessment work, where relevant techniques could be applied to using cloud computing) are not neutral and always reflect either scenarios or real life situations, as appropriate. cultural assumptions. It is critical to be aware of decision-making relating to corporate IT governance and VI. CONCLUSION its implications for the creation and use of digital If the human component of digital curation activities is not materials, in order to understand some of their fully acknowledged, then we are at great risk of developing characteristics and to take appropriate measures for their systems and solutions that are ultimately ineffective. preservation. Incorporating ICF perspectives in teaching future digital curators • Trust in information management systems. It is not about will contribute to enhancing understanding of the very real establishing the trustworthiness of the systems and complexity of working environments. Introducing the ICF in processes adopted by an organization to manage its conjunction with more traditional maturity model type tools will information, as much as it is about finding out what assist students in developing the range of skills needed to achieve people think about those systems and processes. digital curation objectives. V. TEACHING IMPLICATIONS REFERENCES [1] H. Hofman, “Dealing with electronic records: intellectual control of With regard to vocational education for digital curation, we records in the digital age,” Janus 1988, 1, pp. 153-63. believe that introducing the ICF would enhance existing teaching [2] Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, Reference Model modules. The framework would primarily serve the purpose of for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS). 2002. raising future digital curators’ awareness of the social, ethical, Recommended practice, Issue 2, June 2012, available at: economic, political, technological – in one word, cultural – http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/650x0m2.pdf (accessed 23 March 2013). influences that constrain and enable the creation and use of the [3] Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (nd). Available at: artefacts they are interested in, as well as their own actions as http://dublincore.org/ (accessed 23 March 2013). socially and culturally embedded information professionals. [4] State Records Authoriry of New South Wales, Design and Implementation of Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS), 2003. The ICF should be presented as one component in the digital Available at: http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/recordkeeping/dirks- curator’s toolkit, to be applied in conjunction with other tools manual (accessed 23 March 2013). such as the Community Capability Model Framework [23] and [5] L. Duranti and R. Preston (eds.), International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) 2: techniques (for example, data curation profiling [24]). Experiential, Interactive and Dynamic Records. Padova, IT: Assessment techniques and practical guidance on how to apply Associazione Nazionale Archivistica Italiana, 2008. Available at: the ICF in order to identify the factors affecting an organization’s http://www.interpares.org/ip2/book.cfm (accessed 23 March 2013). information culture, particularly in relation to the management of [6] DLM Forum Foundation, MoReq2010: Modular Requirements for corporate records, have been developed [25]. The records Records Systems – Volume 1: Core Services & Plug-in Modules, 2011. Available at http://moreq2010.eu/ (accessed 23 March 2013). management environment explored in this book is also [7] P. Checkland and J. Scholes, Soft Systems Methodology in Action. characterised by a plethora of existing tools, including audits and Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1999. maturity models. The ICF is not simply another measurement [8] J. McLeod, S. Childs, R. Hardiman, AC+erm Project: Final Project tool, but a way of providing a holistic view of the information Report, 2011. Available at: environment. By identifying cultural characteristics that, rather http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/static/5007/ceispdf/final.pdf (accessed 23 March 2013). than changed, have to be taken into account, it provides a means [9] F. Foscarini, “Understanding the context of records creation and use. to address ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. ‘Hard’ versus ‘soft’ approaches to records management,” Archival Science 10 (4), 2010, pp. 389-407. The assessment techniques that are appropriate (including [10] G. Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences. Comparing Values, Behaviors, surveys, interviews, documentary analyses, observations) rely on Institutions, and Organizations across Nations, 2nd ed. Thousand ethnography as an overarching methodology (or at least attitude). Oaks: Sage Publications, 2001. In practice, we recommend the information professional who is [11] T.H. Peters and R.H. Waterman, In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper and Row, 1982. interested in understanding what is going on in his/her [12] Leidner and T. Kayworth, “A review of culture in information organization in relation to perceived ‘information problems’ to systems research: toward a theory of information technology culture become an ethnographer of his/her own ‘tribe.’ Thus, training in conflict,” MIS Quarterly 30 (2), 2006, pp. 357-399. [13] Cabrera, E.F. Cabrera and S. Barajas, “The key role of organizational [19] A.D. Brown and K. Starkey, “The effect of organizational culture on culture in a multi-system view of technology-driven change,” communication and information,” Journal of Management Studies 31 International Journal of Information Management 21 (3), 2001, pp. (6), 1994, pp. 807-828. 245-261. [20] Grimshaw, Information Culture and Business Performance. Hatfield: [14] C.W. Choo, C. Furness, S. Paquete, H. van den Berg, B. Detlor, P. University of Herfordshire Press, 1995. Bergeron and L. Heaton, “Working with information: information [21] Oliver, Organisational Culture for Information Managers. Oxford: management and culture in a professional services organization,” Chandos Publishing, 2011. Journal of Information Science 32 (6), 2006, pp. 491–510. [22] Foscarini, G. Oliver, J. Ilerbaig and K. Krumrei, “Preservation [15] J. Yates and W.J. Orlikowski, “Genres of organizational cultures: developing a framework for a culturally sensitive digital communication: a structurational approach to studying preservation agenda,” Proceedings of the UNESCO Conference The communication and media.” Academy of Management Review 17 Memory of the World in the Digital Age: Digitization and (2), 1992, pp. 299-326. Preservation, Vancouver, September 26-28, 2012, UNESCO 2013, [16] Karahanna, J.R. Evaristo, and M. Srite, “Levels of culture and pp. 419-430. individual behavior: an integrative perspective,” Journal of Global [23] UKOLN, Community Capability Model Framework. 2012. Available Information Management 13 (2), 2005, pp. 1-20. at: [17] Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: http://communitymodel.sharepoint.com/Documents/CCMDIRWhiteP Jossey Bass, 1985. aper-24042012.pdf (accessed 23 March 2013). [18] M. Ginman, “Information culture and business performance.” IATUL [24] Data Curation Profiles Toolkit. Overview. n.d. Available at: Quarterly 2 (2), 1988, pp. 93-106. http://datacurationprofiles.org/overview (accessed 23 March 2013). [25] Oliver and F. Foscarini, Records Management and Information Culture: Tackling the People Problem. London: Facet (forthcoming).