Records manager

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A records manager is the professional responsible for records management in an organization. This role has evolved over time and takes many forms, with many related areas of knowledge required for professional competency. Records managers are found in all types of organizations, including business, government, and nonprofit sectors. Generally, dedicated (i.e., full-time) records managers are found in larger organizations.

Records management, also known as records and information management, is an organizational function devoted to the management of information in an organization throughout its life cycle, from the time of creation or inscription to its eventual disposition. This includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserving records. The ISO 15489-1: 2001 standard 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".

Contents

History

Records management evolved from the development of archives in the United States government following World War II. With the explosion of paper records during that war, better systems of management were needed to retain and make the records available for current use. Records managers became specialists that bridged the gap between file clerks and archivists. The profession expanded into the corporate world in the 1950s.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Archivist professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value

An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consist of a variety of forms, including letters, diaries, logs, other personal documents, government documents, sound and/or picture recordings, digital files, or other physical objects.

Competencies

The records manager generally provides expertise in records management, constituting knowledge areas of:

Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposition through archiving or deletion.

The Records Manager may also have subject matter expertise in:

Law System of rules and guidelines, generally backed by governmental authority

Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior. It has been defined both as "the Science of Justice" and "the Art of Justice". Law is a system that regulates and ensures that individuals or a community adhere to the will of the state. State-enforced laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or established by judges through precedent, normally in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.

Privacy The ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves

Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share common themes. When something is private to a person, it usually means that something is inherently special or sensitive to them. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security (confidentiality), which can include the concepts of appropriate use, as well as protection of information. Privacy may also take the form of bodily integrity.

Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate data, or information, often in the context of a business or other enterprise. IT is considered to be a subset of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system is generally an information system, a communications system or, more specifically speaking, a computer system – including all hardware, software and peripheral equipment – operated by a limited group of users.

Specialization

Records managers are present in virtually every type of organization. The role can range from one of a file clerk to the chief information officer of an organization. Records managers may focus on operational responsibilities, design strategies and policies for maintaining and utilizing information, or combine elements of those jobs.

The health care industry has a very specialized view of records management. Health information management involves not only maintaining patient files, but also coding the files to reflect the diagnoses of the conditions suffered by patients. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is the professional organization in this space.

American Health Information Management Association

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is a professional association for health professionals involved in the health information management needed to deliver quality health care to the public. Traditionally focused mainly on hospitals and paper medical records, the field presently covers all health information technology systems, including electronic health records, clinical decision support systems, and so on, for all segments of health care.

Records managers in the pharmaceutical industry are responsible for maintaining laboratory research, clinical trials data, and manufacturing information.

Records managers in law firms often have responsibility for managing conflicts, as well as managing client matter files.

In the United States, records managers in nuclear power plants specialize in compliance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules regarding the handling of nuclear materials. NIRMA is their local professional organization.

Education and certification

Records managers may have degrees in a wide variety of subjects in all disciplines, and few universities offer formal records management education. Graduate-level programs are often specialties within Library Science and Archival Science programs. Graduate-level Public History programs generally offer coursework in archives and records management. A recent addition to records management education in the United States is the MARA – the Master of Archives and Records Administration degree program — offered by the San Jose State University School of Information. [1]

Professional and trade organizations offer continuing education conferences, seminars, and workshops. Governmental archives and records management departments such as the National Archives and Records Administration offer educational programs of interest to government records managers.

A professional certification, the Certified Records Manager credential is offered by the Institute of Certified Records Managers. [2] Other organizations may offer certificates reflecting completion of a course of studies, attendance at a seminar, or passing a subject matter test.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "San Jose State University School of Information". ischool.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  2. ↑ Hewett, Gary. "ICRM". www.icrm.org. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
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