Stage 2: Collection, Creation, Receipt and Capture

During Stage 2: Collection, creation, receipt and capture, records and information are being originated or received by government employees. Records can take many forms: paper, photographs, microfilm, emails, electronic files, voice recordings, or other less familiar formats such as rocks, minerals, and maps.

Why is Stage 2 Important?
This is the stage where records and information are initially created or obtained.

Critical Notes about Stage 2: Collection, Creation, Receipt and Capture
The most important aspect of Stage 2 is to recognize that information assets have been generated, and to encourage employees to assess the value and role of the information at the moment of creation within a recognized framework that makes it easy to support applicable legislation and departmental policies.

It is important for IM practitioners to become acquainted with the concept of legal control. The Access to Information Act, Privacy Act and the Library and Archives Canada Act all speak about records “under the control of” government institutions. Control issues relate to both who is controlling the records, and how the control is being exercised. More can be learned within the Department of Justice’s website.

Inputs to Stage 2: Collection, Creation, Receipt and Capture
Since good foundations are needed to generate usable records and information, IM practitioners will get key inputs from their departmental IM plan that provide guidance on:

• documentation standards;
• governance and accountability frameworks;
• policies and procedures for the access and privacy of information;
• security procedures;
• multi-jurisdictional Information Management plans;
• authentication requirements; and
• version controls.

Outputs from Stage 2: Collection, Creation, Receipt and Capture
The four key outputs from this stage include:

• the information asset, with an agreement to include or exclude from the concept of legal control by the department
• an appraisal of the record’s business value
• an information inventory, with each record logged using tombstone data
• if the information is in the form of a publication, copies must be forwarded for legal deposit to the department’s library and to the Library and Archives of Canada.

This stage is an important precursor to all the other Stages of the Records and Information Life Cycle. Stage 3 will organize the information to make it easy to locate and retrieve information when needed.

Library and Archives Canada’s Role in Stage 2: Collection, Creation, Receipt and Capture
Library and Archives Canada plays a key role in guiding federal government IM practitioners about the importance of effective Records and Information Life Cycle Management. We increasingly make a range of tools, standards, guidelines and practices available to the IM community at large, and Government of Canada employees in particular. Where needed, we provide advice, consultation, training and orientation to support the effective collection, creation, receipt and capture of government records and information.

While we support good Information Management practices at all stages of the Records and Information Life Cycle, we also play a key role in specific areas including preliminary archival appraisals of records and information. These preliminary archival appraisals help departments recognize assets that will need to be treated as archival assets during their active lives as well as during disposition assessments.

Resources that Support Stage 2: Collection, Creation, Receipt and Capture
Click here to access available resources that support Stage 2.

If you have resources that you feel will contribute to the overall IM community’s success, we invite you to contact us so that we can add your resources to our growing pool of shared knowledge.