Electronic Document Management Project

In September 2022, the UX Team was asked to update our internal document, E-Document Management Guidelines (2018) and provide guidance on a directory structure, naming and maintaining files and folders, and clarifying where to store files. 

Methods

• Interviewed 10 library staff members including all of the strategic team heads
• Reviewed relevant strategic team documentation
• Reviewed relevant University privacy and records management policies and guidelines 

What did we learn?

• In light of the pandemic, library staff starting using Microsoft (MS) Teams because permissions could be managed without Library IT
• We found a lack of consistency in file and folder naming conventions, storage locations, and general document management practices across the library and even within strategic teams
• Library staff were vaguely aware of the 2018 version of the E-Document Management Guidelines; compliance was minimal
• Library staff were confused about the interoperability of MS Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive and which one(s) they should be using

Recommendations

We created the Guidelines for Electronic Document Management which contains the following:

• SharePoint is the preferred primary storage location for all teams, committees, and other library documents
• Each team and committee is responsible for document management decisions
• All documents must meet current Accessibility standards
• Strategies for organizing folders including:
  • Do not create new folders to house only one document. Folders should be thoughtfully created to collect many files of a similar nature
  • Designate one person to be responsible for maintaining the directory structure and for creating new top-level folders
• Clarification of the features of and purposes for the available storage options
• Guidance on file and folder naming conventions