Records Management

This course introduces individuals to the essentials of records and recordkeeping systems in organizations. The impact of electronic records will be a particular focus. Records management includes both traditional records management plus the challenges by modern information communication technologies. Students also review software tools and technologies for managing records in the modern organization. Students should understand the relevance of records management methods for working with information systems and the variety of paper and electronic formats.

The course will do the following:

• Outline what records management is and what records managers do
• Discuss the history and development of recordkeeping systems
• Define the concept of a "record" and the systems that support records
• Foreground the links between organizational theory and recordkeeping
• Apply contextual inquiry specifically to recordkeeping systems
• Review the basic principles and functions of a records management program
• Consider records management's place in the information professions (especially its relationship to archival administration, preservation management, information resources management, and the information and library sciences)

Students completing this course gain a good overview of the records management field and how records management is applied in a variety of institutional settings (government, corporate, college and university, and nonprofit). A considerable emphasis in this course is on understanding the organizational settings in which records are created and managed and the history and changing nature of record keeping, with specific emphasis placed on the challenges and opportunities of electronic records. It is essential that individuals preparing for careers in records management, information resources management, and electronic records understand what a record or document is, how the concept of a record has changed and remained the same, and how systems governing the creation and use of records have changed and are changing. Readings on this topic are assigned throughout the course and there are class discussions of these readings.