Understanding Digital Records Management

Records Management Overview

The Notion of a Record

A record is a unit of recorded information, generated or received by an organization, which acts as evidence of activities. Most records are in the form of a document, although records in other forms are possible. The notion of a record carries with it more meaning than that of a document: a document is merely a unit of filing in a document or records management system, whereas the notion of a record encompasses the roles the underlying document plays within an organization over time, and the relationship the participant in a society have to that record, and the relationship between the record and other records.

Records Management

Records management is the application of systematic controls concerning the creation, maintenance and destruction of records required in conjunction with the operation of an organization. A chief concept underlying records management is the life cycle concept. This concept states that every record passes through a series of stages in which the relationship of the record towards the stewarding organization is in a distinct and classifiable mode. There are five major stages in a record’s life cycle:

1. Creation
   Information is generated and gathered into a record.
2. Distribution and use
   The record, along with other information, is distributed among the participants in an organization in accordance with the operating practices of that organization.
3. Storage and maintenance
   The records are filed using a logical and defined scheme into a managed repository, available for retrieval by authorized principals. The records management system is foremost here, and has responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the records, facilitating backup, and assisting users in filing and retrieval.
4. Retention and disposition
   The information in the record has declined in value, and is removed from active accessibility. Depending on the nature of the record, it is destroyed immediately upon deactivation, or will be kept in retention for a defined period of time.
5. Archival preservation
   Records that have a sustaining utility exceeding storage costs are preserved permanently in an archive.

The chief duties of a records management system lie at various points in this life cycle for each record. Filing, searching, retrieval, creating retention schedules, transfer, destruction, etc. all are part of managing the life cycle of a record.

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