INFS 331

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Session 1 – Records and Records Management

Lecturer: Dr. Musah Adams,

Department of Information Studies
Contact Information: madams@ug.edu.gh

College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education
2014/2015 – 2016/2017
 Session Overview
As individuals, we keep records of our own affairs and
other activities in one way or another. In other to make
error free decisions, individuals and institutions need to
manage records very well. While managing an
institution’s records is more complex than managing
our own records, the two rely on the same basic
Records Management Principles. Session One provides
an overview of records and lays the foundation for the
sessions which follow.

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 Session Objectives
After completing this Session, the student should be
able to:
• Define and explain what a record is.
• Explain the qualities and properties of records.
• List some users of records and explain what they use
the records for.
• Distinguish between the two types of records.
• Explain the four main characteristics of records.

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 Session Outline
This session has been divided into five sub topics
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
• Topic one : Definition of Records
• Topic two : Properties and Qualities of a Record
• Topic three : Users of Records
• Topic four : Types of Records
• Topic five : Characteristics of Records

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 Reading List

• Cox, R.J. (2001). Managing records as evidence and

information. West Port: Quorum Books.
• Shepherd, E. and Yeo, G. (2005). Managing records.
London: Facet Publishing.

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 Topic One

DEFINITIONS OF RECORDS

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 What are Records?
Records come in a variety of formats. It maybe
 Paper records: correspondences, minutes, reports,
memoranda, registers, notebooks, cartographic
records, architectural and engineering drawings
etc.
 Roll microfilm: such as photograph prints,
negatives, transparencies and x-rays
 Electronic records: such as Audiovisuals, Online
databases, Multimedia. Etc.

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 Definitions of Records
• The International Council on Archives (ICA) defines a
record as “recorded information produced or
received in the initiation, conduct or completion of
an institutional or individual activity and that
comprises content, context and structure sufficient
to provide the evidence of the activity”

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 Definitions of Records cont..
• International Standard Organization (ISO 15489)
defines a record as “information created, received,
and maintained as evidence by an organization or
person in the transaction of a business, or in the
pursuance of legal obligation, regardless of media”
• One of the key words in this definition is transactions
and this is because the records themselves form a
part of or provide evidence of such transactions.
• A record implies evidence written down and retained
so that it can be read and accessed again.

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 Topic Two

PROPERTIES & QUALITIES OF RECORDS

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 Properties of Records
To serve their purpose of providing reliable evidence,
records must possess three key properties inherent in all
records; content, context and structure
 Content: refers to the information or data held in the
record.
 Context: in terms of being capable of ascertaining
how a record relates to other records and to the
organization which created it.
 Structure: refers to the forms or formats records take

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 Qualities of Records
Records, in both paper and electronic form should be:
 Comprehensive: a record should be created for every
transaction for which evidence is required.
 Accurate: a record should accurately document the
transaction that gave rise to it. Thus, the record should
contain the information necessary to provide evidence of
the transactions it documents.
 Complete and meaningful: a record should include
sufficient information about the context in which it was
created and used, about its structure and about its
linkages to other records.
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 Qualities of Records. Cont..
 Understandable and usable: it should be possible to
extract from the record the information it contains
and is intended to convey without any loss of
information.
 Compliant: a record should comply with any
regulatory and accountability requirements that
apply to the organization that created it.

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 Topic Three

USERS OF RECORDS

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 Users of Records
• Governments: need well managed records to uphold
the rule of law, to be accountable and to ensure the
interest of citizens are protected.
• Executives: need records to enable them formulate
policies and make accurate decisions.
• Action officers: need records to implement policies,
deliver services to citizens and manage resources.
• Auditors: need records to ensure that resources are
fairly and honestly used (accountability)
• Citizens: need records to ensure that their rights and
interests are protected and to enable them make an
informed contribution to the governing process.
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 Users of Records. Cont..
• Historians and Researchers: need access to records
as evidence of what happened in the past.
• Communities: need permanently preserved records
to enable today's society connect with the past.
• Employers: rely on records to provide core
information for conducting their businesses.
• Ombudsmen: need records to determine whether or
not decisions and actions have been taken equitably.

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 Topic Four

TYPES OF RECORDS

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 Types of Records
The two types of records are public and private records.

Public records
• These are records created or received and maintained
by government agencies or institutions within the public
sector. (MDAs).
• The management of public records is or ought to be
governed by legislation, which determines how they are
to be managed throughout their life.
• The funding for managing public records is provided by
the government.
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 Types of Records. Cont..
Private records:
• These are records created, received and maintained
by non government institutions, families and
individuals relating to their affairs.
• The funding for managing private records is provided
by the institution and the individuals involved.

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 Topic Five

CHARACTERISTICS OF RECORDS

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 Characteristics of Records
For any document to be accepted as evidence of an activity
or transaction, it must have all these four characteristics.
 Static: records created must be fixed and not be
susceptible to change. If the content of a record is
manipulated in some way or tampered with, it no longer
provides evidence of the transaction it originally
documented.
 Authority: records should be created under authority that
can be proved. Records provide the official evidence of the
activity or transaction they document. Signatures,
letterheads, seals and office stamps are obvious indicators
of the official nature of records. Slide 21
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 Characteristics of Records. (Cont…)
 Unique: records should be maintained in their
appropriate context because they were generated
during a particular transaction or business process.
For this reason, there should be only one original
copy of every record.

 Authentic: a record is authentic if it can be verified. It

must be possible to prove that records are what they
say they are.

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 Summary
In this session you have learned that
• A record serves as evidence in the transaction of
business or in pursuance of legal obligations.
• Public records are created and received by MDAs while
private records are created by private individual
• Some users of records include; government,
researchers, auditors, employers, action officers etc.
• Static, Authority, Unique and Authentic are the
characteristics of a record.

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 Sample Questions for Consideration

• What is the difference between public records and

private records?
• What are some of the properties and qualities of a
record?
• Records are used by different kinds of people. Name
any five of them.
• Explain the four basic characteristics of a record.

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 References
• Cox, R.J. (2001). Managing records as evidence and
information. West Port: Quorum Books.
• Franks, C. (2013) Records and information
management. London facet Publishing
• Shepherd, E. and Yeo, G. (2005). Managing
records. London: Facet Publishing.

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