Battling the appraisal backlog: A challenging professional obligation for Botswana National Archives and Records Services

Abstract

This article discusses the challenges faced by Botswana National Archives and Records Services (BNARS) in addressing its appraisal backlog. The backlog is a result of a fragmented records management system where the Department played a custodial role for semicurrent records and preservation of archival records. Management of current records was not in the control of BNARS, but rather lay with creating agencies. For various reasons no appraisal was done in these agencies resulting in accumulation of unappraised materials. The backlog of unappraised records presents challenges of denying access to information which, according to law should be availed. It also presents a space management problem as Records Centres and records management units get congested with ephemeral records. The Department initially struggled to make an impact on the backlog, but with the introduction of new initiatives and resources significant progress has been made. An assessment of attempts to resolve the backlog is made and lessons are drawn from that. The challenges presented relate to professional records management matters, the records management structure in the public sector, human resource issues and BNARS operational issues. Ongoing strategies and planned solutions addressing the challenges are also discussed.