Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices

CHAPTER 9

Information Governance and Records and Information Management Functions

Records management (RM) is a key impact area of information governance (IG)—so much so that in the RM space, IG is often thought of as synonymous with or a simple superset of RM. But IG is much more than that. We delve into the details of RM here—a sort of crash course on how to identify and inventory records, conduct the necessary legal research, develop retention and disposition schedules, and more. Also, we identify the relationship and impact of IG on the RM function in an organization in this chapter.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines (business) records as “information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.”¹ It further defines RM 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.”²

The U.S.-based Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) defines records as “evidence of what an organization does. They capture its business activities and transactions, such as contract negotiations, business correspondence, personnel files, and financial statements.”³

Records and information management ...