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What is Records Management

Records Management is the practice of identifying, classifying, archiving, preserving, and sometimes destroying records. There is an International Standard on records management, ISO 15489: 2001. This defines records management as, "The field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records".

The ISO defines records as "information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business". The International Committee on Archives (ICA) Committee on Electronic Records defines a record as, "a specific piece of recorded information generated, collected or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an activity and that comprises sufficient content, context and structure to provide proof or evidence of that activity". While the definition of a record is often identified strongly with a document, a record can be either a tangible object or digital information which has value to an organization. For example, birth certificates, medical x-rays, office documents, databases, application data, and e-mail are all examples of records.

Practicing Records Management

The practice of records management involves all of the following activities:

• Creating, approving, and enforcing records policies, including a classification system and a records retention policy

• Coordinate the access and circulation of records within and even outside of an organization

• Developing a records storage plan, which includes the short and long-term housing of physical records and digital information

• Identifying existing and newly created records, classifying them, and then storing them according to standard operating procedures

• Executing a retention policy to archive and destroy records according to operational needs, operating procedures, statutes, and regulations

Often, a records management system helps to aid in the capture, classification, and ongoing management of records throughout their lifecycle. Such a system may be paper based (such as index cards as used in a library), or may be a computer system, such as an electronic records management application.