Information Nation: Seven Keys to Information Management Compliance, Second Edition

Chapter 3. An Overview of Records Management

In Chapter 1, we explored how diverse Information Management activities fit together. In Chapter 2, we defined the term record and examined the need for organizations to properly identify and retain business records. In this chapter we will look in detail at the systematic management of records (i.e., Records Management) and examine how Records Management and Information Management fit together.

Defining Records Management

Information Management is a broad category of activities, all of which must be carried out with a view to compliance. For example, it is just as important that an organization's information security policies reflect current laws as it is for a customer relationship management application to protect customer privacy. Both areas are part of Information Management, and both must be compliant with relevant criteria.

In many ways, however, Records Management is not just another activity under the umbrella of Information Management. In fact, Records Management typically deals with the most sensitive, valuable, and challenging information in an organization. This is why we have chosen to devote an entire chapter to the topic.

Whereas Information Management is a broad activity encompassing many different types of information and management activities, Records Management focuses on a particular type of information, namely records. In this sense, Records Management is a subset or component of Information Management. Records Management ...