This study examines in detail the archival functions and practices that determine the sedimentation of records that have been generated in offices. Archival sedimentation, as it is understood in the Italian context, is the process by which records interrelate to create aggregations that document the activities performed by records creators. A fundamental role in this sedimentation process is played by classification, which provides the rules that govern these relationships, guaranteeing a meaningful context to records, as well as intellectual control over them.
Despite the importance of classification for managing records, literature on this specific topic is scarce. Thus, this research examines the concept of classification, and provides clarification to distinguish it from other concepts that are indistinctly used, such as filing and arrangement. The records classification scheme, an essential tool traditionally used to classify and file records, is examined in the current digital environment, as new technological solutions for establishing records relationships have emerged. Traditional hierarchical records classification schemes, their constitutive elements, divisional criteria and methodologies for construction are analyzed, as are other tools currently used to simplify classification tasks, multiply records relationships and increase access points for retrieval. Findings show that the hierarchical structural relationships are still necessary to manage digital records, as are associative relations. Both types of relationship are used in records classification schemes, although at different levels of the scheme.
Surprisingly, the construction of records classification schemes is almost unexplored within the archival discipline, which proposes general, scattered and dissimilar structures and few methodologies for their elaboration. This research presents a compendium of principles and methodological steps to be followed, highlighting the issue (still unresolved) of identifying classification elements such as functions, activities and transactions. Findings show that the analytical process that needs to be followed to identify these elements is based on both the functional and sequential analyses of the work processes/activities that generate records. However, the work process analysis for records is currently not consistently applied due to the high level expertise and interdisciplinary work it requires.
Finally, another neglected topic within the archival literature, that of procedures for classification and filing, is also analyzed, as users need guidance on how these operations should be properly executed
