Study (1st Year)

What is Records Management?

Records management is the discipline of applying well established techniques and procedures
to the control of those sources of information which arise internally within an organization as
a result of its own activities. The objective of the control is both to provide efficiency and
effectiveness and to ensure the maintenance of corporate memory.

What is a Record?

A record is recorded evidence of an activity. It is not defined by its physical format, storage
medium or age. You can have parchment, paper, clay tablets, audio tapes, CDs, email and
film footage.

The record is the result of an activity, which is often called a business transaction, and the
need to record those transactions as part of the business process. Examples of these recorded
activities are government files, transport fare ticket, photographs, telephone conversation, a
CD and a telephone directory.

Important aspects of a record

The information in the record – the message

Where the information is physically recorded – the medium

The context which was created for a business purpose or as a result for a business purpose.

Books are different from books. ‘Books are single items which do not depend on other items
for their meaning’. (Caroline Williams in her book on Managing Archives). Archives are
aggregated collections of interrelated documents which have collective significance which
will be lost if documents are treated as single items.

Records management is relatively new profession. The term was not heard until mid 20th
century but its functions have been in existence for about 7000 years. The first records
produced were by the Sumeria civilization around 5000 BC which dealt with business matters
such as taxes, loans, inventories. These were managed by the temple priests who controlled
the Sumerian economy.

In the 15th century records management systems wre developed and the Registry system was
also established during that time.