From the Chair

with Reynold Leming · IRMS Chair

Dear readers,

I hope that readers remain fit and well. As I write, the sun is shining and I hope that we have a balmy summer, especially as I have taken up the new outdoor hobby of lawn bowls.

Since the last issue we have held the Annual General Meeting of the Society. As with last year, this was held “virtually” and I am pleased that it ran smoothly without technical hiccups. The new Articles of Association were approved and I am hoping that the Society will now gain charitable status in the near future.

During the AGM I ran through some highs and lows, which I will repeat below for those who could not attend.

Lows

• We were unable, of course, to hold faceto-face meetings, events, or accreditations because of COVID-19.

• We were unable to hold Conference in 2020, although I am delighted that this will be an “in person” event in Birmingham from 28-30 November 2021, including the awards ceremony.

• We have a number of group chair vacancies to be filled.

• The capacity of the IRMS team to deliver all planned workstreams was impacted, although we have increased our resources on the Executive team and hope to be running at full steam again shortly. Highs

• Membership and revenues held up despite the challenges of COVID-19.

• The Society has had a range of great virtual offerings during pandemic, including webinars, #IRMSHour on Twitter, and pub quizzes.

• We held a successful online awards ceremony in 2020, as well as AGMs in 2020 and 2021.

• We are hopefully on the last lap toward the

Society gaining charitable status.

• We established the Microsoft Customer

Advisory Board and are continuing to hold associated roundtable events. The intention of this Board has been to help influence the direction of the records management capabilities provided within the Microsoft 365 platform. It has been facilitating a conversation between Microsoft, the memberships of the IRMS and other professional organisations, leading subject matter experts, and multiple national archival bodies around the world. We are delighted to announce that some of the issues that we brought to Microsoft’s attention last summer are now being significantly improved. We are currently engaged in a conversation on email management and plan a next discussion on long-term preservation.

• We have been involved in the Digital DPIA project (Dapian system), which is available at a discounted rate to corporate members.

• We have been working with the Archives and Records Association and other membership organisations on wider advocacy matters for the profession.