The mapping, selecting and opening of data. The records management contribution to the Open Data project in Girona City Council
| Date | 15 July 2014 |
| Pages | 87-98 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-01-2014-0008 |
| Published date | 15 July 2014 |
| Author | Lluís Esteve Casellas Serra |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
The mapping, selecting and
opening of data
The records management contribution to the
Open Data project in Girona City Council
Lluís Esteve Casellas Serra
Department of Records Management, City Council of Girona,
Girona, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to share the contribution of records managers to the Open Government in
the City Council of Girona (Catalonia), based on the strategy of participation in the Open Data project.
Design/methodology/approach – The contribution of the Records Management Department is to
facilitate locating data sets and to be responsible for the data selection processes. Records Management
allows a rst global identication of the functions, activities and producers, using the Records
Classication Scheme and the General Register of Case Files. In addition, it can obtain a greater detail
of information using the Application Catalogue and the Register of Personal Data Files.
Findings – Records Management can contribute to data selection in the Open Data projects by the
appraisal of data, also taking into consideration functions and records of the organization. At the same
time, Open Data projects could reinforce the strategies of records preservation in databases, because the
same extraction processes could be shared. In addition, Open Data projects could mean an opportunity
for Historical Archives if they take charge of the maintenance of the Open Data Archive. This could be
relevant in the future for the transformation of data from information systems into documentary
heritage.
Research limitations/implications – The opening of the city’s Open Government portal is
scheduled for the beginning of 2014. Thus, it is necessary to consider this work as a work in progress.
Originality/value – This work is a specic case study of the contribution of Records Management to
the Open Data projects; its proposals and reections have been made from a very practical point of view.
Keywords Data management, Records management, Open Data, Data appraisal, Data set selection,
Records preservation in databases
Paper type Case study
The Open Data project of Girona City Council started at the beginning of 2013 in the
framework of a wider project on the city’s Open Government. Girona is located in
Catalonia, Spain, between Barcelona and the French border, and has 100,000
inhabitants; the City Council has approximately 1,000 full-time employees. The project
is directly led by the Mayor’s Ofce and is coordinated by the Municipal Unit of
Territorial Analysis (UMAT), in collaboration with the IT Department and the
Department of Records Management, Archives and Publications (SGDAP). The launch
of the city’s Open Government portal and the publication of the rst data sets are
The author thanks the City Council of Girona for their support and permission to publish this case
study, and, especially, thanks Nadine Garralda for translating this text into English.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
Mapping,
selecting and
opening of data
87
Received 19 January 2014
Revised 23 April 2014
Accepted 3 June 2014
Records Management Journal
Vol. 24 No. 2, 2014
pp. 87-98
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-01-2014-0008
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