This includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserving records.
The ISO 15489-1:2016 defines records as "information created, received, and maintained as evidence and as an asset by an organization or person, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business".
[7] In organizational contexts, records are materials created or received by an organization in the transaction of business, or in pursuit of or in compliance with legal obligations.
Digital records systems may include role-based access controls, allowing permissions (to view, change and/or delete) to be allocated to staff depending on their role in the organization.
Organizations that manage records casually find it difficult to access and retrieve information when needed.
The inefficiency of filing maintenance and storage systems can prove to be costly in terms of wasted space and resources expended searching for records.
These records may hold business, legal, fiscal, or historical value for the entity in the future and, therefore, are required to be maintained for a short or permanent duration.
Once the life of a record has been satisfied according to its predetermined period and there are no legal holds pending, it is authorized for final disposition, which may include destruction, transfer, or permanent preservation.
[2] Also, section DL1.105 of the United States Department of Defense standard DoD 5015.02-STD (2007) defines Records Management as "the planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promoting, and other managerial activities involving the life cycle of information, including creation, maintenance (use, storage, retrieval), and disposal, regardless of media".
Correspondence regarding a product failure is written for internal leadership, financial statements and reports are generated for public and regulatory scrutiny, the old corporate logo is retired, and a new one – including color scheme and approved corporate font – takes its place in the organization's history.
The records continuum theory is an abstract conceptual model that helps to understand and explore recordkeeping activities in relation to multiple contexts over space and time.
ARMA International defines records management as "the field of management responsible for establishing and implementing policies, systems, and procedures to capture, create, access, distribute, use, store, secure, retrieve, and ensure disposition of an organization's records and information".
Commercially available products can manage records through all processes active, inactive, archival, retention scheduling and disposal.
The International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) Project is one example of such an initiative.
Based at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the InterPARES Project is a collaborative project between researchers all across the world committed to developing theories and methodologies to ensure the reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of digital records.
Functional requirements for computer systems to manage digital records have been produced by the US Department of Defense,[12] The United Kingdom's National Archives and the European Commission,[19] whose MoReq (Model Requirements for the Management of Electronic Records) specification has been translated into at least twelve languages funded by the European Commission.
For example, it is unclear if an IRS auditor would accept a JPEG, PNG, or PDF format scanned copy of a purchase receipt for a deducted expense item.
While public administration, healthcare and the legal profession have a long history of records management, the corporate sector has generally shown less interest.
Corporate records compliance issues including retention period requirements and the need to disclose information as a result of litigation have come to be seen as important.
The need to ensure personal information is not retained unnecessarily has brought greater focus to retention schedules and records disposal.
For instance, in the United Kingdom, Section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 required the government to publish a Code of Practice on Records Management for public authorities.
Implementing required changes to organisational culture is a major challenge, since records management is often seen as an unnecessary or low priority administrative task that can be performed at the lowest levels within an organization.
Many colleges and universities offer degree programs in library and information sciences which cover records management.
[21] Records Management Vendors can be certified as compliant with the DoD 5015.2-STD after verification from the Joint Interoperability Test Command which builds test case procedures, writes detailed and summary final reports on 5015.2-certified products, and performs on-site inspection of software.
[22] The National Archives in the UK has published two sets of functional requirements to promote the development of the electronic records management software market (1999 and 2002).
[30] This too was initiated by the DLM Forum and funded by the European Commission, on this occasion by its IDABC program (the successor to IDA).
The National Archives of Australia (NAA) published the Functional Specifications for Electronic Records Management Systems Software (ERMS), and the associated Guidelines for Implementing the Functional Specifications for Electronic Records Management Systems Software, as exposure drafts in February 2006.
There is a trade organization for commercial records centers (for example, PRISM International), however, not all service providers are members.