Editing Records management (section)

{{Short description|Management of the information and records of an organization}}
'''Records management''', also known as '''records and information management''', is an organizational function devoted to the [[information management|management of information]] in an organization throughout its [[records life-cycle|life cycle]], from the time of creation or receipt to its eventual disposition. This includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserving records.<ref>{{cite web|author=ARMA International |title=Glossary of Records and Information Management Terms, 3rd Edition |publisher=ARMA International |url=http://archive.arma.org/standards/glossaryw2/index.cfm?id_term=373 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023837/https://archive.arma.org/standards/glossaryw2/index.cfm?id_term=373 |archive-date=2013-09-28 }}</ref> The [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] [[ISO 15489 Information and documentation -- Records management|15489-1: 2001]] standard ([[ISO 15489 Information and documentation -- Records management|"ISO 15489-1:2001"]]) 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".<ref name="ISO15489">{{cite web | author = International Organization for Standardization – ISO | title = ISO 15489-1:2001 – Information and Documentation – Records Management – Part 1: General | year = 2001 | publisher = International Organization for Standardization – ISO | url = http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=31908 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140402205215/http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=31908 | archive-date = 2014-04-02 }}</ref>

An organization's records preserve aspects of institutional memory. In determining how long to retain records, their capacity for re-use is important. Many are kept as evidence of activities, transactions, and decisions. Others document what happened and why.<ref>{{cite book|last=Megill|first=Kenneth|title=Corporate Memory: Records and Information Management in the Knowledge Age|edition=2nd|place=Munich|publisher=K.G. Saur/Thomson|date=2005}}</ref> The purpose of records management is part of an organization's broader function of [[governance, risk management, and compliance]] and is primarily concerned with managing the evidence of an organization's activities as well as the reduction or mitigation of risk associated with it.<ref name="GRC_Tarantino">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aUyqPxYw10C |title=Governance, Risk, and Compliance to the Handbook |author=Anthony Tarantino |isbn=978-0-470-09589-8 |date=2008-02-25}}</ref> Recent research shows linkages between records management and accountability in governance.<ref>David, R. (2017). Contribution of records management to audit opinions and accountability in government. South African Journal of Information Management, 19(1), 1-14.https://doi.org/10.4102/sajim.v19i1.771</ref>