WHY

RECORDS MANAGEMENT?
About PRISM International

PRISM (Professional Records and Information Services Management)

International, Inc., is a not-for-profit trade association providing educa-
tion, networking and advocacy services to our members and the business
public. Our members operate commercial and non-commercial facilities
specializing in information management (the discipline of safely pre-
serving vital, important and necessary information throughout its useful
retention and confidentially destroying it when it is no longer required
to be preserved).

PRISM International is based in the United States and serves members

in 38 countries around the world. The participating members of our
organization are owners and senior managers of the firms described
above. Our organization was founded as ACRC (Association of
Commercial Records Centers) and became PRISM International in
1996, after merging with NASDV (National Association of Secured
Data Vaults).

PRISM International members provide professional information man-

agement services to businesses, organizations and governments. They
are critical partners in disaster recovery strategies, litigation risk man-
agement, cost reductions through outsourcing offsite information stor-
age, and providing critical information management tools to empower
better management solutions and enhanced profitability.

PRISM International Headquarters

4700 W. Lake Ave.
Glenview, IL 60025-1485
+1-847-375-6344
Fax: +1-847-375-6343
info@[Link]

© Copyright PRISM International 2004.

All Rights Reserved.
 “WHY RECORDS MANAGEMENT?”

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

SECTION I – JUSTIFICATION
2. Records Management: What Is It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Functions of Records Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4. Disaster Recovery and Business Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5. Efficiency and Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6. Statutory Requirements and Criminal Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
7. Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8. Data Mining, Knowledge Management and
a Records Management Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

SECTION II – IMPLEMENTATION
9. ISO 15489 and Classification Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10. Retention Scheduling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
11. Filing Methodologies and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
12. Media Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

SECTION III – RESOURCES

13. Information Lifecycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
14. Brief History of Records Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
15. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
16. About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
17. Sample Records Management Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
18. Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
19. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

1
 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Information has always been an organization’s central resource. Without it,

the modern organization simply could not function. Business records are opera-
tional—and sometimes strategic—assets. They have economic, legal, fiscal,
risk-management, and competitive values. Many organizations, however, lack
effective policies and procedures for systematic control of their recorded infor-
mation. As a result, they keep some records too long, spend too much to store
them, waste time looking for misplaced information, risk penalties for non-com-
pliance with recordkeeping regulations, risk a public-relations nightmare, and
fail to protect mission-critical information from harm.

Narratives about such records management problems form the back-

bone of the field’s experience with organizations that lack records man-
agement. Common examples include:

• Paperwork is the largest overhead expense in any organization,

• Active files typically grow at a rate of about 25% annually,
• Managers spend an average of 4 weeks a year searching for or
waiting on misfiled, mislabeled, untracked, or “lost” information,
• Office workers can waste up to two hours a day looking for misplaced
paperwork,
• 90% of records, once filed, are never referred to again,
• 95% of references are to records less than 3 years old,
• Two thirds of records in organizations without records management
may be removed from offices and either destroyed as being obsolete or
transferred to lower-cost offsite facilities,
• At any given time, between 3 and 5 percent of an organization’s files
are lost or misplaced,
• The average cost of recreating a one-page document is $180,
• Companies typically misfile 2% to 7% of their paper and electronic
records,
• Computer users spend 7.5% of their time on a PC looking for files,
• 67% of data loss is directly related to user blunders, making them 30
times more menacing than viruses and the leading cause of data loss,
• 30% of paperwork is useless and could be eliminated; and 37% of
photocopies made are unnecessary, and
• Large organizations lose a document every 12 seconds,

The creation, storage, retrieval, use, and destruction (or permanent archival
retention) of information of all types and in all media is an increasingly difficult
2
challenge for business and government organizations. Despite the application of
information technologies, the mounting rise of “paperwork” requirements con-
tinues to accelerate. In today’s corporate volatile environment, records manage-
ment is simply not optional. In fact, records management works all day every day
for every unit in those organizations that adopt a comprehensive records manage-
ment program.

Records are central to the work of

One study found that in single year records
all organized entities. They sustain management saved a university $667,882 -
the work of the organization, yet they in source and filing equipment alone - after
are, to an extent, a drain on its subtracting the program’s budget
resources as well. What is often not [Link]
well understood is that records are as
much a resource-intense feature of operations as are employees, facilities, and
equipment. In fact, some estimate that about 90 percent of all white-collar activi-
ties focus on information-related activities (e. g, creating, storing, retrieving, dis-
tributing). Clearly, considerable expense is required for this activity, and records
management works to keep all aspects of these functions as economical as possi-
ble. Records should earn their keep, and records management makes sure they do.

Records management—also called “records and information management” or

“recorded information management” (RIM)—is the systematic application of
management principles—chiefly control—to the recorded information needed
and used in the normal course of an organization’s business. Records document
transactions and, in some cases, may be legally required as evidence of each
transaction. Transactional records include orderings, schedules, receipts, notifi-
cation, loans, and contracts, and many other types. While it is no surprise that
records document such actions today, these same actions were documented by
records some 4,000 years ago.

In a Federal Computer Week article, J. Timothy Sprehe addresses the linguis-

tic barriers between information technology personnel and records managers.
“Take a simple word such as ‘record.’ In database management, a record is a
complete set of information composed of data fields; a set of records makes up a
file. In document technologies, ‘record’ means any information stored by any
device. In workflow, a record is a collection of individual items of data treated as
a unit. These are the meanings familiar to IT managers.”

“In records management, the term ‘record’ carries far heavier weight. The
International Organization for Standardization defines a record as ‘information
created, received and maintained as evidence and information by an organization
3
or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business’”
(ISO 15489).

“In this sense,” as Sprehe notes, “a record is something you can take into a
court of law. And if called upon, you must be able to show in court that the record
has authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability — that is, you must prove that
the record is what it purports to be, that it is complete and unaltered, that it fully
and accurately represents the facts to which it attests, and that it can be retrieved
and presented.”

Sprehe’s commentary cuts straight to

These have been considered records
the heart of the issue of organizational by courts:
records management. A going concern is • Doodles on a paper napkin
compelled by law, by potential litigation, • Core samples from oil exploration
• A pipe with a part number on it
by audit requirements, or by common • Sections of frozen tissue samples
industry practice to produce evidence of
its operations. These requirements may extend to a finite period, indefinitely—or
may be permanently retained. In addition, an organization must plan for contin-
gencies in the event of natural or man-made disasters which would provide for
the survival of the business in those circumstances. These items represent the
risk-management aspects of records management.

Records managers see recordkeeping systems in a larger framework than just

the records alone. Such systems include people who create and use organization-
al records, policies related to records, procedures to ensure maximum access to
and use of records, tools and technologies to create and store records in a variety
of formats, as well as education and training both for records managers and those
they serve.

Records and information management also brings significant classification

benefits to an organization. Properly applied, records and information generated
by the organization is classified, or organized, in such a way that it can be found
quickly and used successfully to aid in decision processes undertaken by work-
ers and management. This is particularly true in the area of digital information
creation since employees may combine poor organizational skills with the capa-
bility of creating volumes of new business information independently of each
other. This quickly leads to infoglut. Cost control is another major value since
information storage costs can be significant regardless of media type. Skilled
management of information prior to a pre-authorized destruction date is a way to
keep organizations from drowning in the volumes of information it produces on
a daily basis.
4
 Employees involved in records and information management should have a
high degree of interaction with critical business units. IT/IS departments, legal
counsel or legal departments, accountants, auditing, finance departments, and
contingency or disaster planning units or individuals are all critical areas of inter-
action for the records manager. Records management is a specialized field of
information management concerned with systematic analysis and control of
operating records associated with business activities. Just as attorneys handle
legal issues, increasingly recordkeeping issues are best handled by experienced
records professionals. The field has been professionalized through a certification
program which grants the Certified Records Manager (CRM) status to those who
pass a six-part written examination and maintain certification through continuing
education <[Link]

Coordination of records functions to support and reinforce business opera-

tions are central to the mission of records and information management. In the
United States the recent passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and regulations
promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission prompt Chief
Executive Officers to meet periodically with their CFOs and records managers to
insure that all required information is being retained, managed, and destroyed
according to statute. Failure to comply with these and other regulations, includ-
ing enhanced laws protecting personal privacy in many countries, regarding
information retention and disposition could result in severe fines, criminal
charges, and imprisonment.

Where there is substantial employee turnover or where there have been con-
solidations due to mergers or acquisitions, a skilled records manager can prove
invaluable in reminding departments such as marketing and sales of information
assets that already exist within the organization. The organization of these assets
to facilitate retrieval and use by specialized employees, departments, or out-
source providers, such as consultants, or agencies can leverage existing assets to
create additional profits for the organization.

Records and information management is most effective when it is implement-

ed in an organization-wide approach. Resources such as ISO 15489—discussed
below—provide significant guidance in implementing a systems approach that
incorporates all employee records output and considers all types of information
irrespective of the type of media or its creation and disposition date. Application
of ISO 15489 within all departments and in all operating units requires the com-
plete support of management, as well as training of individual employees to iden-
tify records at the point they are created. It also requires cooperation in identify-
ing all company records, identifying a thesaurus of terms in use among various
5
individuals or departments in order to design finding aids and to adhere to
records management principles.

Because of their specific training in records and information management

concepts, records managers should be involved in purchasing decisions for infor-
mation storage and retrieval devices and should be empowered to provide guid-
ance to operating departments regarding appropriate media selection for infor-
mation storage and retrieval. They should be tasked with the responsibility (or
consulted where appropriate) for locating outsourcing vendors for inactive
records storage, computer tape backup and disaster recovery vendors, and ven-
dors specializing in the confidential destruction of information. Records and
information managers should also provide ongoing training to various depart-
ments regarding records retention requirements, records series identification,
information technology (IT) alternatives, and finding aids and retrieval proce-
dures.

By implementing a consistent, organization-wide and upper-management sup-

ported records and information management program, an organization seeks to

• Conform to statutory require- At any given time, between 3 and 5 per-

ments for information reten- cent of an organization’s files are lost or
tion, misplaced. The average cost of recreat-
ing a document is $180. Annual loses
• Provide itself appropriate evi- for a Fortune 1000 company with one
dence of transactions to million files is $5 million dollars
defend itself in litigation or Information Week
audit,
• Leverage information assets into meaningful competitive intelligence
and market research data,
• Minimize jeopardy during the discovery phase of litigation, Provide for
the continuity of the organization during a disaster,
and Assist in controlling costs through the timely disposition of infor-
mation.

These risk-management and value-added benefits are essential to the effi-

cient and effective operation of an enterprise and should receive both strong
management support and sufficient resources to operate effectively within the
organization.

6
 SECTION I: JUSTIFICATION

2. RECORDS MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS IT?

Records management is both a discipline and management function con-

cerned with the systematic application of management techniques to and control
of the information created or received in the normal information of an organiza-
tion’s business.1 Unlike many information sources, records also have a more dis-
tinct life cycle that includes creation or receipt, processing, distribution, mainte-
nance, evaluation, and ultimate disposition (i.e., either destruction or transmittal
for permanent housing in an archive, vault, or other dedicated facility operated
by the company or an outsourcing partner).

There will be organizational information systems that are made up of records

(e.g., library records), but not all information systems are recordkeeping systems.
Recordkeeping systems are required to have the following:

• Reliability (consistent cap-

Active vs. Inactive Files
ture, organization access to In FY 1998, the federal government found
records), that one cubic foot of records could be
• Integrity (no unauthorized stored in a records center for $1.59 annual-
ly while that same cubic foot cost $23.10 to
alteration, destruction, maintain in typical office space and equip-
removal), ment .
• Permanence (cannot be
tampered with, altered, or improperly deleted),
• Comprehensiveness (management of all records created and stored as a
normal continuous activity of all units in an organization), and
• Compliance (created and maintained in a manner that is consistent
with all policies and procedures that apply to organizational records).

There are several benefits from an energetic and systematic records manage-
ment program. According to Robek, they include:

• Control of the creation, volume, redundancy, and growth of records,

• Reduction of operating costs through active management and intelli-
gent outsourcing decisions,
• Improvement of overall efficiency and productivity,
1 (A “document” is related to but not the same as a record. This is the case because all records are doc-
uments, but not all documents are records. Documents, for example, may include library collections,
available unpublished materials, and other resources not produced in the organization’s normal course
of business. A document may be as brief as one page. Records management, however, focuses on the
treatment of larger groups or sets of records rather than individual completed forms or single records.)

7
 • Assimilation of emerging records management technologies,
• Ensuring legislative, regulatory compliance as well as other risk-man-
agement concerns, such as litigation,
• Safeguarding the organization’s vital information, including historical
records,
• Supporting enhanced performance and productivity of business
processes, and
• Enabling quicker and better management decision making.

Records management offers a variety of asset-management benefits :protec-

tion (e.g., of privacy, data ownership, intellectual property); monitoring (e.g.,
auditing, due diligence, compliance); maintenance(e.g., storage, preservation,
retention according to policy); documenting (e.g., past decisions and actions).

8
3. FUNCTIONS OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT

In addition to the goals noted above, there are programmatic functions of

records management programs: what do they do in an operational sense? Here
we can only introduce each component briefly. The basic functions of a records
management program once it is agreed to by senior management include:

• Taking a records inventory throughout the organization to identify

records as to types, locations, volumes, and conditions in which the
records are housed. (discussed in more detail below; also, see Records
Inventory Form, Appendix 1). From the inventory a variety of program
initiatives emerge (e.g., identification of vital records, privacy and confi-
dentiality issues, opportunities for application of appropriate technology).

• Using information from the records inventory and legal research tools,
develop retention schedules for all the records series in the organiza-
tion regardless of media or location. Among the issues to be addressed
are: how long records must maintained in the creating office and then
later in offsite storage, confidentiality, security, status as vital or archival
records, medium in which the information is recorded (paper, film, tape,
etc.), and how should they be disposed of—destruction or transfer to an
archival repository). (See Retention Schedule Form, Appendix 2).
Records retention is discussed in more detail, below.

• Vital records are those which contain data or information essential to

the survival of an organization in the event of natural or man-made dis-
aster. As many as 90% of businesses are unable to continue after two
years when their vital records are destroyed Some of these records will
be unique, that is, there is
but one copy being created. 83% of all business documents consist of
The vital records program, forms. Businesses spend $1 billion a year
designing and printing forms but $25-35
part of a larger business billion a year filing, storing, and retrieving
recovery plan, uses a variety then, and some $65-85 billion processing,
of strategies to ensure maintaining, and distributing them.
The Myth of the Paperless Office (2002)
access to vital records.
(Vital records are discussed
in more detail, below; see Vital Records Identification, Appendix 3.)

• The management of active files is an integral part of a comprehensive

records management program. This function is particularly important
since these records cause the greatest expenditures in space, staff, equip-
9
 ment, and supplies. The role of the active files function is to reduce costs
but at the same time increase efficiency and effectiveness in the work-
place. To achieve these objectives, records in each organizational unit
are reviewed in areas such the type of media used to store the informa-
tion, physical location and access to the files, and classification systems
best suited for the management of each particular type of files. There are
many electronic and paper-based systems available to set up classifica-
tions and filing systems.

• Inactive files management is a strategy to continually move files out of

more expensive office space when they have become inactive (often
defined as a reference rate of less than one search per file drawer per
month). Removed files are typically placed in a high-density, low-cost
records storage environment (either in-house or outsourced). Here labor,
space, shelving, and supplies are much less expensive than in the office
environment. Records retention programs, policies, procedures, and
schedules—discussed below—drive the transfer of inactive records.
Savings from the management of inactive files is compelling; for exam-
ple, Sandy Santori, Minister, Management Services for the Canadian
Province of British Columbia reported in a 2002 speech that “The three
contracts to private storage [records] facilities totaled $2.3 million in the
last fiscal year. For every dollar spent to store [700,000 boxes of] records
in these off-site centers, it is estimated that the government [of British
Columbia] saves four dollars.”

• On average, three percent of the total body of an organization’s records

qualify as archival records and thus have a life-of-company retention
value. Archival records, sometimes called “corporate memory,” form a
record of both the past and present, showing long-term growth, develop-
ment, and accountability to stakeholders. They also record long-term
functions and activities. Records with archival value normally fall into
one or more of the following categories: historical, legal, fiscal, or infor-
mational.

• Imaging technologies have become an important part of records man-

agement. Records should be analyzed to determine if microfilming or
digital imaging is appropriate. Microforms remain an appropriate tech-
nology, particularly for records that need absolute file integrity or have
a retention requirement for which long-term storage is mandated.
Microfilm offers virtues such as low-cost, easy retrieval, use for vital
records backup, and a medium widely used for preservation of important
10
 documents. Optical disk systems can be used to scan paper records and
offer other useful capabilities; these include high-volume storage, fast
retrieval, fast printing as needed along with the other virtues of digital
systems, such has high-speed transmission to various locations. Some
technologies enable simultaneous scanning and microfilming.

• Forms management is important to records management. By far the

largest volume of records in any organization are printed or electronic
forms. Forms facilitate handling of current but variable data. They are
helpful in recording or documenting discrete transactions. In working
with a team to create a form, records managers can set up forms control
systems that include (1) analysis of the process or procedure requiring
the form’s use, (2) identification of where the form should be positioned
in the specific business process, (3) creation of layout and then design of
the form, (4) upload or install form (if digital) or have it printed and pro-
cured (if paper), and (5) then dissemination to the forms’ users. This
activity creates an opportunity for records managers to participate at the
important creation stage of records in order to reduce long-term costs
and enhance productivity.

Since clerical processing of the form—printed or electronic—costs significant-

ly more than its design and printing, it is critical to use what we know about how
people process information to ensure
that two objectives of form design are Are Records Really Valuable?
met: (1) the greatest amount of need- In trying to resurrect Iraq’s oil industry,
authorities discovered that seismic charts
ed information will be supplied and for 200,000 kilometers of land were
(2) the information can be supplied in destroyed. Each chart cost approximately
the shortest amount of employee or $15,000 to create. The value of the
records? $3 billion.
customer time. Effective forms Newsweek July 21, 2003
design and management significantly
improves productivity.

11
4: DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS SURVIVAL

On September 11, 2001, thousands of businesses located in or around the

World Trade Center found themselves in the midst of a catastrophe. There was
massive loss of life, facilities and equipment were ruined, transportation routes
were gridlocked, communication channels were overwhelmed, and airspace was
sanitized. Yet many of the affected businesses were able to resume operations on
September 12. How was this possible? Careful planning.

Contingency planners and disaster recovery experts may disagree on some

details, but all would agree that every business and organization should have a
disaster recovery plan. These plans will vary widely based upon the scope and
scale of the organization, but all should identify possible scenarios that could
interrupt their operations and then devise strategies to overcome these interrup-
tions. The most common scenarios are forces of nature such as earthquakes, hur-
ricanes, tornados, landslides, wildfires, flooding, blizzards, ice storms, volcanoes
and tidal waves. Man-made disasters should also be addressed; e.g., arson, pro-
longed power loss, burglary, vandalism, computer attacks, espionage, bomb
threats, terrorist attacks, chemical spills, transportation interruptions, etc.

A basic assumption of disaster

The ANSI standard for maintaining unused
data-bearing media is 40 degrees F and recovery is that the primary site of
20% RH. organizational operations will be
ANSI IT9.23-1998 either non-existent, unsuitable for
occupancy, or inaccessible. This
necessitates the creation of a temporary location to continue the activity of the
organization. In order to accomplish this objective, information and other critical
resources must be transferred from the primary location to a secondary location.
From a records management standpoint, this requires organization of information
assets in such a way that critical active records, as well as vital records, such as
corporate charters, are both complete and portable (e.g., via dispersion).

The first step in protecting critical information assets is to identify them—in

advance. This calls for an information and records inventory. A records manager
should interview employees from all departments, including legal counsel and
external accounting partners, in order to gain a complete picture of company
information assets that would be essential in maintaining a viable organization.
These records receive the label vital records. Vital records are frequently protect-
ed by redundancy. That is, a copy of each vital record is created and then be sent
for storage in a facility physically separated from the primary operations unit of
the company. While many organizations who operate in multiple facilities or geo-
12
graphically disparate locations may rely on unaffected company locations for
other disaster recovery strategies, the preservation of vital records is frequently
outsourced to a third party commercial information management company in
order to insulate that information from internal attacks by disgruntled employees.

The need for this third-party involvement is clearly demonstrated in the fol-
lowing excerpt from an article in Network World magazine. “Tim Lloyd of
Wilmington, Delaware, was found guilty last spring of planting a software time
bomb in a centralized file server at Omega Engineering’s Bridgeport, New
Jersey, manufacturing plant. The malicious software code destroyed the pro-
grams that ran the company’s manufacturing machines, costing Omega more
than $10 million in losses, $2 million in reprogramming costs, and eventually
leading to 80 layoffs…The case stems from a July 31, 1996, incident at Omega,
a Stamford, Connecticut, manufacturer of customized high-tech measurement
and instrumentation devices. On that morning, the central file server crashed on
boot up, deleting and purging all programs on it. After months of data recovery
efforts, the programs are considered a complete loss.”

Here is a further illustration from the Computer Security Institute,

“Companies reporting computer crime for 1997 have reported the following:
virus infection - 65%; laptop theft - 57%; abusive use of the Internet - 31%; unau-
thorized computer use - 16%; telecommunications fraud - 16%; information theft
- 14%; financial fraud - 12%; sabotage - 11%; network break-in - 8%.” The
Harris Corporation reports that “60% of computer abuse is caused by insiders.
85% of computer break-ins occur internally. Insiders still remain as the most seri-
ous threat to intellectual property.”

Redundant copies may take the form

Paperless?
of paper records, microforms, computer For every sales increase of $100 mil-
data tapes, or combinations of all those lion that a company experiences, it
media types and others as well. The uses 8.8 million more sheets of paper.
location of these materials, along with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2000)
an inventory of the redundant copies
should be communicated in the disaster recovery plan, along with contact infor-
mation for the commercial information management company. Access to this
information is shielded by a restrictive authorization list, which is a select group
of employees authorized to order the retrieval of information. When contemplat-
ing a scenario such as September 11, where there was massive loss of life, it
would be prudent to include the name of a non-company employee (such as legal
counsel or external company accountant) on the authorization list in order to
insure that there will be a surviving person authorized to order retrieval of vital
13
information, even in the case of an incident leading to significant casualties. It is
also a prudent step to include a copy of the organization’s disaster recovery plan
at a distant offsite location.

A responsibility of records managers is that of ensuring that records of all

types are housed in fire-proof, climate controlled environments appropriate to
their nature. Commercial facilities protecting vital records, particularly comput-
er data tapes and microfilm, are known as media vaults. This is an important dis-
tinction, since the characteristics of a media vault bear very little resemblance to
a bank vault. The exterior surfaces of a media vault are equipped with special fit-
tings and doors in order to prevent the expansion of a fire into the facility. In the
case of media storage, the fittings will be rated to hold the internal temperature
of a vault to 125 degrees Fahrenheit for a finite number hours when directly
exposed to a fire. On the interior of the vault, special gas-based fire suppression
systems are installed, special filters siphon particles of dust and contaminants out
of the air, and special machinery is used to maintain a constant temperature and
humidity level. This specialized environment is designed to maximize the life of
the media contained in the vault.

Even though special steps are taken to maintain a pristine environment, degra-
dation of media is a naturally occurring phenomenon. This requires vital records
copies to be regularly tested in order to insure that data contained on tapes, CDs,
or other digital media is still readable. If data tapes or other digital media are
being maintained for an extended period of time, in a tape library for example,
data should be periodically scheduled for transfer to fresh media. This practice
is known as data migration and will take into account changes in hardware used
to read the media, the operating systems of machines, and software versions used
to interpret the data contained on the digital media. The National Archives and
Records Administration of the United States
U.S. managers spend an average of
4 weeks a year searching for or (NARA) recommends that five percent of
waiting on misfiled, mislabeled, digital information in storage be sampled
untracked, or “lost” papers. after the first seven years in order to insure
Cuadra Associates that information is still accessible.

14
5: EFFICIENCY/EFFECTIVENESS

Since records management is a staff rather than a line function, its values are
often cast in terms of organizational support rather than direct revenue produc-
tion. Any such function, however, must have clear purposes and offer a variety of
benefits important to line management. Traditionally, cost savings has been a
primary benefit and has focused on such areas as the difference in space costs
between expensive low-density office space and that for low-cost, high-density
storage space for inactive records.

Records management is often introduced into an organization when one or

more driving problems emerge and action must be taken. Below is a diagnostic
checklist that may reveal the need for a systematic, organization-wide, and life-
cycle approach to managing recorded information.

• Managers spend too much time waiting or searching for documents,

Files needed by customers, employees, auditors, the public, attorneys,
and others are increasing difficult—or even impossible—to find,
• Important documents are sometimes inadvertently discarded or removed
without authorization,
• Offices are needlessly housing records no longer required for
day–to–day business; current filing systems are no longer able to handle
the growing volume,
• Office space is becoming crowded with filing cabinets—each requiring
allocation of 6.9 sq. ft. of floor space (cabinet base, file use space, and pas-
sageway space for other staff + wheelchair passage) to house, provide
access to, and permit employee traffic while drawers are open and in use,
• Employees suffer morale problems when they compete with the growth
of records for rapidly diminishing space,
• There are no policy-based retention schedules, and “old” records are
kept “just in case” and stack up in attics, basements, closets, and pas-
sageways because no one is sure what ought to be done with them,
• Important categories of critical records (e.g., vital records, archival
records) go unidentified and unprotected—some may be thrown out in
the trash,
• Inactive records are banished to hostile environments, such as base-
ments, attics, garages, closets, abandoned buildings and there is neither
an adequate list of locations nor an effective index to what is stored
there,
• Records are exposed to dust, dirt, rodents, insects, mold, mildew—all of
which accelerate deterioration of records,
15
 • Records storage areas for active and inactive records as well as digital
media do not meet national standards for climate control,
• Despite vendor claims, a lack of certainty prevails about the various types,
benefits, limitations, and applicability of recordkeeping technologies,
• Backups for each computer (not just network files) not regularly made
and all media rotated to secure offsite locations (putting a backup disc
next to one’s computer won’t be helpful if the office burns),
• Lack of policy and procedures manuals to standardize effective informa-
tion handling processes,
• Corporate image suffers when records needed by customers or auditors
are “missing,”
• There is a crisis (e.g., broken water pipes, fire, flood, lawsuits, embar-
rassing audits, etc.) that reveal inadequacies in recordkeeping.

Clearly, organizational productivity and efficiency are bound up in these

problems. In some ways, records are organizational orphans—they are every
unit’s information asset and, frequently, their “problem.” They are too often,
however, no one’s specific organization-wide responsibility. IT’s interests and
priorities often fall well outside the needs of managing records.

Federal and New York regulators ordered Reduction in labor costs and
the U.S. Trust Corporation to pay $10 increases in worker productivity are
million in fines to settle accusations thatkey priorities in almost every business
it violated bank secrecy laws and failed
to keep complete records in a special
around the world. The presence of a
trading unit. highly organized and systematic
records management program that
includes all records, regardless of media type or location, can provide much
needed productivity increases and lower labor costs. In his report “Dying For
Information: A Report on Information Overload in the UK and Worldwide,” Paul
Waddington of Reuters makes the following observations. “Time is wasted.
People spend too much time looking for information. 38% of managers surveyed
waste ‘substantial’ amounts of time just looking for information.”

The Reuters studies, conducted in three sections from 1994-1996 looked at

managers from the UK, United States, Hong Kong and Singapore. More than half
of those surveyed expressed a very high need for information. Further,
Waddington’s report states “Decisions are often delayed: 43% of respondents
thought that decisions were delayed and otherwise adversely affected by ‘analy-
sis paralysis’ or the existence of too much information. 47% of respondents said
that information collection distracts them from their main responsibilities. They
find it difficult to develop strategies for dealing with the information they
16
retrieve. It is interesting to imagine the potential increase in productivity if all
distractions were removed.”

In addition to productivity losses, the Reuters study also points out health ram-
ifications of information overload that leads to stress — particularly in the United
States. Information overloaded employees cancelled social events and other social
outlets where participation would be helpful in the reduction of stress. Respondents
also reported increased tension.

17
6: STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND CRIMINAL
PENALTIES

Recently, the management of business records has received close scrutiny

from news media, legislators, government regulators, stockholders, and others.
News events have raised troubling questions about the recordkeeping practices of
U.S. corporations, professional service firms, and other business entities.
Examples of widely publicized recordkeeping irregularities include reported
shredding of documents to obstruct justice by Enron Corporation, falsification of
financial statements by WorldCom, judicial sanctions imposed against the Walt
Disney Company for destruction of royalty records, allegations that the chief
executive officer (CEO) of ImClone ordered the destruction of documents relat-
ing to a government investigation of securities trading, and, most famously, the
criminal trial of Arthur Andersen for destruction of audit records.

Relevance of the Andersen Case

The Andersen trial, which led to the sudden and dramatic demise of one of
America’s best known professional service firms, a $9.3 billion company, illus-
trates the significance of recordkeeping issues as well as the importance of sys-
tematic compliance with record retention policies and procedures.

In November 2001, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

issued a subpoena to Arthur Andersen for records related to public accounting
work it performed for Enron, the subject of a government investigation for pos-
sible violation of federal securities laws. That investigation began in October
2001, although the events leading up to it were widely reported during the pre-
ceding months. In January 2002, Andersen officials disclosed that the company
had destroyed a number of records related to Enron audits. The officials said that
the records were destroyed in conformity with company policy, a policy which
permitted the destruction of non-essential records relating to specific audits.
Andersen officials further stated that the audit records were destroyed without
criminal intent before the SEC investigation began and before the subpoena was
received.

Federal prosecutors alleged, however, that Andersen destroyed the audit

records after the SEC investigation had begun and that Andersen officials were
fully aware that the company would be asked to produce the records. It is illegal
to knowingly and intentionally destroy records relevant to pending or ongoing lit-
igation or government investigations, even though legitimate corporate poli-
cies—including those related to records retention schedules—would otherwise
18
permit such destruction. In March 2002, federal prosecutors charged Andersen
with obstruction of justice for destroying records needed for the Enron investiga-
tion. The company was convicted of obstructing justice in June 2002, but consid-
erable damage to the company was done before the verdict was rendered. Many
of Andersen’s leading clients withdrew their business shortly after the criminal
charges were announced, and the company drastically reduced its workforce and
sold several of its operations to competitors.

What Has Been the Public Reaction to These Events?

The Andersen case and other high-profile incidents involving corporate

records have provoked a strong reaction from public officials, legislators, regula-
tory authorities, shareholders, and law enforcement agencies. Public policy ana-
lysts predict extensive revision of legislation affecting corporate financial activi-
ties, with greater emphasis on exec-
utive accountability. In particular,
companies can expect stricter regu- “Utilizing a system of record keeping
which conceals rather than discloses or
lation and oversight of their account- makes it unduly difficult to identify or
ing and financial reporting practices, locate them is the functional equivalent of
with significant penalties for non- destroying records. “
Sears vs. Kozlowski
compliance. The Sarbanes-Oxley
Act (July 30, 2002) is but the first of
these regulatory initiatives.

Sarbanes-Oxley
This legislation (2002) represents a new focus on issues related to records and
pushes accountability for proper handling of them (content and management) to
a higher level. The law requires:

• CEOs and CFOs to certify personally financial records and reports

periodically,
• Requires that guidelines for audit committees to be established,
• Mandates the retention of all documents relevant to possible govern-
ment investigation,
• Audit work papers, which some might argue are not official records,
must now be retained for seven years

The act also provides for executive-level criminal penalties: CFOs and CEOs
falsely representing company financial status may be fined up to $1 million and
sentenced to prison for up to ten years. Willful violators may be fined up to $5
million and spend 20 years in prison. Sec. 802 of the Act specifies that anyone
19
who knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up falsifies, or makes
false entries in records or documents is liable for fines and up to 20 years in prison.

While Sarbanes-Oxley is the first major piece of legislation to penalize upper

management directly, there is also case law pointing to managerial culpability.
For example, in Danis vs. USN Communications, the CEO was faulted for not
ensuring that a comprehensive records retention plan was developed and imple-
mented, failing to ensure that records retention directives were followed, delegat-
ing records responsibilities not to a records manager but to an in-house attorney
with little knowledge of or experience with records issues, and failed to notify
staff of imminent litigation such that the documents would be preserved. This is
fast becoming an era when you say what you do, you do what you say, and you
make a record that you did it.

• Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, there is a focus on the protection of

whistleblowers:
• Employees who file or assist in proceedings involving alleged viola-
tions of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules may not be
harassed or terminated.
• SEC-subject companies may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten,
or harass an employee who has reason to believe that SEC rules are
being violated and assists in providing information or evidence of
malfeasance.

In both cases, the whistleblower might be turn out to be records specialists

since they, more than others within the organization, may become aware of inap-
propriate behavior or suspicious patterns in recordkeeping functions.

Rules stemming from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act concerning records retention

practices were issued by the SEC (e.g., 68 Federal Register 4861 [January 30,
2003]). Someone, presumably the records manager, keeps track of newly prom-
ulgated regulations and puts them into corporate practice via new procedures. It
is clear that chief executives are asking more questions and requiring more infor-
mation from line managers. Some have initiated internal certification processes
in which managers attest to the accuracy of their own reports. The consequence
of this new direction is a reformed vision of the significance of records.

The SEC’s section 17a-3/4 (and NASD 3010/3110) took effect May 12, 2003.
These requirements apply to financial institutions generally and to brokerage
firms and anyone else dealing in securities overseen by the SEC. These rules
require, among other things,

20
 • Storing data on non-rewritable media (e.g., WORM [Write Once Read
Many]),
• Ability to automatically verify the quality and accuracy of the storage
media process,
• Written and active records retention policies,
• Storage of data—second copies—off site with a third party,
• Searchable indexes of records on and off site,
• Searchable index of all data, and
• Easily retrievable data.

Some records are to be maintained six years after the closing of any cus-
tomer’s account. The third-party requirement has important implications for the
commercial information storage industry.

Spoilation Principle

A legal principle of importance in Sarbanes-Oxley is that of spoilation. The

legal tenet of spoliation (destruction, alteration) of evidence is that “all things are
presumed against a despoiler or wrongdoer” (Black’s Law Dictionary). So, any
destruction or alteration (e.g., forgery) or failing to preserve records for another
party’s use in litigation (current, future, or potential) is grounds for adverse
inference in court and is subject to possible penalties, including a summary judg-
ment against the guilty party (see Carlucci vs. Piper Aircraft, below). A related
problem is the corruption of electronic data, even with no malice involved. If ,
for example, records on magnetic tape or optical disk became unreadable, the
fault would lie not at the feet of the plaintiff seeking such records but with those
who, possibly, failed to maintain records in a storage environment meeting wide-
ly accepted standards for climate control (e.g., ANSI IT9.23-1998). A court could
apply penalties in such cases.

The U.S. and the Shifting Regulatory Environment

Each year at state and federal levels, dozens of new laws are enacted and hun-
dreds of new regulations are added to existing statutes that incorporate records
requirements. Records managers must find ways to keep track of those that affect
their type of organization. At the federal level, regulatory agencies issue new
requirements and changes in recordkeeping requirements meant to achieve com-
pliance with statutes. These are first published in The Federal Register (a daily
publication of some 70,000 pages a year). Regulations accumulate in the Code of
Federal Regulations, which comprises some 250 volumes a year, each 600-750
pages in length. Administrative rulings from agencies, revenue rulings, may be
21
little publicized but must be tracked. At the state level, new laws and regulations
which can affect businesses as well as government agencies also crop up by the
hundreds. Companies doing business in more than one state must factor in the
varying retention requirements in each state. Records managers must also keep
abreast of those new federal laws, or statutes, which appear in the United States
Code (USC) that may have records implications—and those at the state level as
well. A recent case in point is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Statutes of Limitation on Action

These statues, which vary from state to state, do not themselves require
records retention. But records, especially contracts, should be reviewed as to the
number of years for which action (e.g., litigation) may be brought. If the statute
of limitations in a given state is six years, then retaining contracts for the current
year plus six years would be sound retention policy; in Maryland there is a three-
year statute on limitations, and so a different retention decision may emerge.

IRS

Another source of regulation of records practices is the Internal Revenue

Service (IRS). Beginning in 1998, “Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 98-25.”
Taxpayers are allowed to maintain records in electronic formats. Companies
must be able, however, to provide “sufficient information to support and verify
entries make on the taxpayer’s return.” If there is any question about the accura-
cy of the electronic records, the taxpayer must be able to supplement the elec-
tronic records with hardcopy records and be able to document the process under
which the records were created and maintained. This means that detailed descrip-
tions are required for the record format(s) used, descriptions of the various fields
in the record, showing how the indexing system works, monitoring to show
maintenance checking, and reconciliation of the electronic records and the tax-
payer’s ledgers. Rev. Proc. 98-25 also requires appropriate labeling, a secure
storage environment (e.g., fireproof, humidity/temperature controlled), selection
of an offsite storage facility, and the means to ensure data integrity. Loss of data
may sanctioned with penalties by the IRS. While there are legal and technologi-
cal issues at play, this is yet another example of the need for knowledgeable
records managers and commercial information management providers.

Fines for Inadequate Records

Businesses and other types of organizations face hefty fines for inept record-
keeping. For example, failure to properly document recordable injuries and ill-
22
nesses over the past three years resulted in a $536,000 proposed penalty for a
Texas pipe manufacturer. One of the nation’s largest credit-rating agencies,
Moody’s Investors Service Inc., plead guilty to destroying documents it was sup-
posed to turn over during an antitrust investigation. The agency was ordered to
pay a $195,000 criminal fine according to the Justice Department. Five large
investment houses were fined over $1 million each because they failed to pre-
serve e-mail for three years as required by the SEC.

Cases of Confusion

Often the laws and regulations still lead to misunderstanding. At the person-
al level, most people believe they must retain their tax returns for seven years. In
fact, returns in most cases may be audited only within three years of their filing
date (IRS Code § 6501).

Different federal agencies may have different retention regulations that apply
to the same record. In that case, the retention is for the longer of the two periods
required. In some cases, Maryland, for example, there is a requirement to keep
records but without stating how long they should be kept. Where there is a
requirement to keep but no specification as to the retention period, some organi-
zations apply a “three-year default” retention if neither law nor common sense
indicates otherwise.

Some confusion also exists about an assumed difference between personal

and corporate records. If the document has anything whatever to do with one’s
work, it qualifies as a corporate record and is not protected by the Fifth
Amendment, which accords privilege against self-incrimination to persons, not
organizations. One’s day planner, for example, may contain personal appoint-
ments. This, however, is not enough to keep it from being part of a document
production list. The same principle applies to what we often consider our “per-
sonal” files, those kept in or near desks, and it extends to rolodexes, business
cards received, call return slips, and small notebooks carried in one’s pocket. A
university president’s alteration of barber and dental appointment records in his
electronic calendar provided evidence in a felony investigation of improper and
personal use of university resources.

Case Law

Ultimately, records managers must be aware of—and communicate to oth-

ers—the statutory and regulatory bases for determining the length of the reten-
tion period assigned to each records series. Hundreds of records related require-
23
ments at the federal and state levels change each year, so tracking these changes
are important. In addition to statutes and regulations, there is a considerable
amount of case law that has shaped thinking about records retention issues (see
Donald Skupsky, Law, Records, and Information Management).

A case with an important focus on records management is Carlucci v. Piper

Aircraft Corporation (102 FDR 472 [1984]. In this case, a wrongful death suit, a
summary judgment in the amount of $10,000,000 was made primarily because
the court found that Piper had wrongly and deliberately destroyed records (“spo-
liation”), records which Piper would reasonably know that they would likely to
be required to produce during the discovery phase of litigation. This is an exam-
ple of how case law has influenced thinking about effective management of
records. It shores up, for example, how important it is to have in place an effec-
tive records management program. The records called for by the plaintiff prob-
ably would not have caused Piper as much harm intact as they did by being
destroyed. Perhaps, this was a $10,000,000 risk management blunder.

Public companies are now under intense scrutiny to verify the authenticity of
their financial records and accounting transactions. These companies, and private
companies who may have equity partners exerting similar pressures, must turn to
records and information managers in order to verify the validity of records, locate
key supporting information, and to provide key information to auditors who seek
to authenticate prior work. In this environment of high pressure and scrutiny,
records management effectiveness and efficiency will be tested through use. The
good news is that a realization of the value of records and information manage-
ment can benefit an organization through a critical role: restoring investor and
stakeholder trust.

24
7: RISK MANAGEMENT
In addition to the economic model (e.g., cost reduction, cost avoidance, effi-
ciency, productivity, and effectiveness), another approach to the value of records
management is in the area of risk management. Much of the discussion above
suggests how critical risk-management strategies can be. Essentially, risk man-
agement is the continuous, cost-effective organizational process of identifying,
controlling, and mitigation (or elimination) of vulnerabilities in legal, economic,
and behavioral factors. As to its processes, risk management includes risk analy-
sis, cost-benefit analysis, and security evaluation. Clearly, a continuous, profes-
sional-level effort in records management supports regulatory, legal, and audit
challenges and supports the authenticity of the organization’s recordkeeping
policies. To gain such benefits, Edwin Dietel, an attorney who evaluates records
and information programs from a risk-management perspective, points out sev-
eral corporate records management commitments that must be made to get the
necessary results. He advises organizations to:

A. Create a Comprehensive Records Management Program.

Records management initiatives should not be undertaken either piecemeal or

randomly and should be developed and documented and tested well in advance
of any foreseen need. Each piece of the program should be undertaken as a part
of an overall, comprehensive integrated program. To “whip up” a records reten-
tion policy and yet have no implementing procedures or management-endorsed
records retention schedules for all records would prove laughable in an adversar-
ial proceeding. (A list of records management activities or functions is treated
under Functions of Records Management, above.) Once a program is in place, it
must be reviewed for both compliance and utility.

As Dietel suggests, an organized and systematic corporate records manage-

ment program offers the organization an opportunity to deal with invaluable cor-
porate information as it does with other valuable corporate assets, such as its cap-
ital, equipment, people, trade secrets, and good will. The first step is to “drain the
corporate records management swamp” so that the playing field is usable.

A key to creating and improving an effective program lies in acquiring and

maintaining the leadership of a records manager whose credentials and experi-
ence are appropriate. The criteria here for candidates may include a four-year
degree in management or business administration, several years of professional
experience, and, perhaps, being a Certified Records Manager (CRM). An orga-
nization’s lack of experience with the title and work of records managers some-
25
times leads to the erroneous impression that they do filing when, in fact, they cre-
ate filing systems and taxonomies—and more—for use by everyone in the organ-
ization.

B. Develop an Evaluation Program.

As Dietel notes, an evaluation focuses on whether organizational policy right-

ly and logically are appropriated to the organization’s records management
needs. Are the proper records management processes and procedures being used?
Such an evaluation might be determined by benchmarking with other organiza-
tions, keeping current with the literature of the field, attending educational
events, or by comparing the program to the elements of ISO 15489 (discussed
below). When a commitment is made to constantly improving records manage-
ment program, it may help to create a competitive advantage.

C. Develop an Audit Program.

An audit examine whether those tasked with managing information assets are
following the records management procedures the company has established. For
example, are records being filed as prescribed in the organization’s file guide and
related policies? Are records being consistently destroyed in accord with the
company records retention schedule (the point is missed if only paper versions of
a record series is destroyed and the digital copies left in place)? Are staff per-
forming their records management responsibilities correctly?

D. Place the Records Management Program Effectively in the

Organization

Depending on the type of organization, records management may be found in

legal services, management and audit, administrative services, or information
services. The head of this unit should have middle-management status and report
to a high level, such as the Chief Information Officer, Chief Legal Officer, or
even the CEO. This latter placement becomes more likely as the implications of
Sarbanes-Oxley begin to dawn on senior management, who must, often for the
first time, take an active role in records management issues and not merely pro-
vide some resources and tacit support. Records management is likely to find new
champions in the highest ranks in the organization.

At the same time, consideration of appropriate delegation of roles is impor-

tant. Putting an attorney in charge of records management is just as wrong as
putting a records manager in charge of the legal department. When handled in an
26
informed way, senior management will make effective delegation of roles such
that, for example, records management will do the managerial and specialized
legal research for each records series, and the organization’s counsel will review
and endorse it. In a similar way, records management and Information
Technology (IT) will work together on computer-based systems so that issues
such as records retention requirements will continue to fall under records man-
agement while IT more purely technological needs. It would be foolish to have a
high-quality retention program and yet allow IT staff to claim that deletion of
obsolete records does not apply to records on computers.

E. Integrate Records Management Initiatives with

Technological Innovations

Information technology can greatly facilitate the sharing of information, yet

people can be easily inundated with too much information. At the other extreme,
people may not be able to find the work of an associate in the next office. Pre-
positioned, organization-wide information technology with workable organizing
schemes (often called taxonomies—discussed below), discussed below, must be
in place for effective retrieval: the right information at the right time for the right
person.

In recent years, much of the IT focus has been on electronic document man-
agement systems. Recently, however, vendors have recognized the critical
importance of building records management requirements into their systems.
Technology is emerging that provides modules to handle retention and related
records issues.

F. The Vital Records Program: A Risk Management

Imperative

Managers are responsible for the enhancement and protection of all the orga-
nization’s assets. The creation of a vital records program may prove to be a key
business asset to the organization’s very survival and should be a prominent part
of any organizations’ business continuity plan. Some know the term “vital
records” as referring to public records of births, deaths, etc. In records manage-
ment, however, “vital records” are those that are fundamental to the functioning
of an organization. Certain vital records contain information critical to continued
operation or survival during or immediately following a crisis (e.g., fire, flood,
earthquake). Such records are necessary to continue operations under abnormal
conditions. They contain information necessary to recreate an organization’s
legal and financial status and to preserve rights and obligations of stakeholders,
27
including employees, customers, investors, and citizens. Some vital records may
be unique and not easily reproducible, or the cost of reproduction or replacement
may be considerable. Some records may be required in their original form to
meet evidential requirements. Records should be classified as vital only for as
long as they support critical business processes and fulfill the requirements
described above. Once they have fulfilled this role, they should be reclassified.
(Detailed information about vital records programs is available in ANSI/ARMA
5-2003: Vital Records Programs.)

It is widely understood that the organizations that lose their vital records are
in grave jeopardy. As many as 90% of businesses with lost vital records are
unable to continue in business. All the more reason to develop a vital records pro-
gram. As suggested in ANSI/ARMA 5-2003: Vital Records Programs, this pro-
gram should provide:

• Lists of all records identified as necessary to protect assets, protect

legal and financial status, preserve rights of . . . stakeholders, and
ensure continuity of business operations,
• Procedures and practices to be followed to protect these records, and
• Procedures to permit effective use of selected records in an emergency.

Normally, vital records will constitute only 5%-7% of the total volume of
records, but clearly they would prove to be among the most critical to the opera-
tion of an organization. Among the most important activities in developing the
vital records program would be:

• Creating a list of all records that qualify as vital records (e.g., paid
invoices, accounts receivable, corporate charters),
• Development of strategies to protect the records identified as vital
(e.g., copies sent offsite, microfilm sent offsite, dispersal of copies in
normal course of business, media tape rotation or automatic electronic
vaulting for storage in a data vault (corporate or external vendor), and
• Make copies of unique vital records and retain onsite while sending
originals to an offsite records management company or media vault
(ANSI/ARMA 5-2003: Vital Records Programs).

In addition, the management of vital records—including use of computer

back up tapes and microfilm masters—is made more secure by redundancy. If
copies of these materials exist at a remote location, the effects of a fire or other
potentially catastrophic event can be more easily overcome. Since events like
arson or data sabotage are often initiated by disgruntled or recently terminated

28
employees, a third party vendor is frequently employed to preserve vital records
copies or originals. This third-party storage strategy is getting increased attention
since federal regulations increasingly require it for some records types.

Helpful Hints:

1. Are you storing your records correctly? Are records located in basement
areas or under water pipes that may be prone to flooding? Are the records
protected against fire? Your commercial information managementout-
source partner can help you determine whether some records may be at
risk and can provide effective services to lower cost, minimize risk, and
aid in business continuity planning.
2. Are your records policies and procedures clearly defined? Do those poli-
cies and procedures provide for the auditing of the records program to
ensure compliance? Are employees trained in proper procedures for sub-
mitting records along with the appropriate documentation?
3. Are computer backup tapes, vital paper records, or copies of tape or disk
libraries located away from the originals? Too many people store backups
of their PC’s files onto a disc kept in a drawer of the desk on which their
computer is placed—not helpful in the event of a fire or flood.
4. Are restricted records such as personnel files or protected health informa-
tion shielded from unauthorized viewing and locked when not in use?
5. Is a copy of your disaster recovery plan located away from company facil-
ities, but quickly available, in case the primary facility should become
inaccessible?
6. Are you using a “clean desk policy” to make sure active records and infor-
mation are removed from desk surfaces after hours? This provides several
benefits, including minimizing unintended viewing of potentially sensitive
information by cleaning personnel, unauthorized employees, or others
who may gain entry to work areas.

29
8: DATA MINING, KNOWLEDGE MANAGE-
MENT, AND A RECORDS MANAGEMENT
STANDARD
Records managers are concerned with
differences in what has come to be called
the information hierarchy. Below is a
graphic depiction of this hierarchy: Data
are typically seen as the raw material, or
building blocks, of information. This
data means little by itself. The data must
be processed, analyzed, or organized in
order for it to be meaningful. When data
is formatted, correlated, or plotted, it
becomes—or rises to the level of—infor-
mation. These have greater value in deci-
sion-making and the performance and strategy of an organization.

Compared to data, information is a meaningful message—often within a

document or other tangible communication. Because it reduces uncertainty, one
can take action from information or make decisions based on it. A piece of infor-
mation—recorded information for our purposes—has limited value until many
items of information can be acquired, evaluated, compared with other informa-
tion, and put into the context of experience and judgment. At that point, infor-
mation becomes knowledge. There we are focusing on the cognitive realm—
including intuition—that may include the generation of new ideas, new interpre-
tations, and possibly new products. Yet, this knowledge may be somewhat lim-
ited until it is synthesized and visualized at the level of understanding. Whether
wisdom should represent the next level in this structure remains to be seen,
though some have suggested that it—or perhaps values—should be next in order.

Where do records fit into this model and why should we be interested? Some
suggest that “a” record can be nothing more or higher than data—with little value
on its own. Others assign a higher value to individual records, suggesting that
certain types of records have enough information content within them to have a
higher status than mere data. Records have their value as records when they doc-
ument an action or transaction. At some point in time after the transaction, they
rapidly lose value and are kept mostly because of their retention requirements.

The emergence of knowledge management, however, may give new value to

30
what had seemed to be lifeless records. Records used for one purpose—usually to
document a transaction—may be re-used, or recycled, and used in some other way.
In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, a compound may be developed to cre-
ate a medicine for a particular ailment and not prove itself of value for that problem.
Yet the research records created from that earlier initiative is often revisited, and new
experiments emerge to see if the drug has value for some other condition. When the
first effort fails, the records of that effort gain new life and value. In this context,
records become competitive weapons and revenue generators.

In his The Value of Records Management: A Manager’s Briefing, William

Saffady declares that “Systematic recordkeeping practices confer competitive
advantages that can increase revenues in some business situations. Recorded
information is a critical supporting element in value chain activities associated
with the creation, marketing, and delivery of products and services. All value-
chain activities depend on information contained in paper documents, computer
databases, and other records. Although information-processing technologies
attract considerable attention, recorded information itself is the real value carrier
in most business operations.”

Introducing ISO 15489: An International Standard

In September 2001, an important milestone was achieved in standardizing

records and information management practices around the world. An internation-
al standard, initiated by records management standards organizations in
Australia, and through the cooperative technical committees of the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), culminated in the creation of an interna-
tional standard for records management called ISO 15489: Information and
Documentation—Records Management. A further document, “DIRKS: A
Strategic Approach to Managing Business Information,”2 has also been created
by the National Archives of Australia as a potential resource to records managers
around the world in their implementation of ISO 15489.

The scope statement of ISO 15489 states, “This International Standard pro-
vides guidance on managing records of originating organizations, public or pri-
vate for internal and external
clients.” It adds, “The standardiza- “One of the strengths of [ISO 15489] is
that it focuses on the business interests in
tion of records management policies good records management and provides a
and procedures ensures that appro- strategic and holistic approach to it.”
priate attention and protection is
given to all records, and that the evi- Sarah Tyacke, Keeper of the Records,
Public Records Office, UK
dence and information they contain
31
can be retrieved more efficiently and effectively using standard practices and pro-
cedures.” This standard, along with the DIRKS Manual and other resources, can
provide key substantiation for changes in records management policies when
communicated to appropriate management personnel.

• Among the benefits of implementing ISO 15489 noted by Robert

McLean are
• Conducting business in an orderly, efficient, and accountable way,
• Delivering services in a consistent and equitable manner,
• Documenting policy formation and managerial decision-making,
• Providing continuity in case of a disaster,
• Meeting legislative and regulatory requirements including archival,
audit, and oversight activities,
• Providing consistency, continuity, and productivity in management,
• Facilitating effective performance of activities throughout the organiza-
tion,
• Providing protection and support in litigation, including the manage-
ment of risks, associated with the existence or non-existences of organ-
ization activity,
• Establishing business and cultural identity,
• Protecting interests of the organization and its stakeholders, and
• Maintaining corporate, personal, and collective memory.3

Any organization seeking or having ISO 9000 certification should look close-
ly to ISO 15489 as direct support to their ability to demonstrate compliance with
the “quality records” and other information requirements of the ISO 9000 series.

2 Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS): Manual for Commonwealth

Agencies (National Archives of Australia).
3 Robert McLean, “The Business Case for Implementing ISO 15489,” Records Management Bulletin,
Issue 115 (August 2003), 7-12.

32
 SECTION II: IMPLEMENTATION
9: ISO 15489 AND CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Because lack of records capture and retrievability are such critical compo-
nents of records and information management, special care must be given to sys-
tems design that will promote and enhance both areas. The records classification
system, or file plan, requires much thought, communication, and planning in
order to maintain language familiar to employees who are generating the records
and who will be eventual requesters of centrally managed information assets.

AS 4390 (predecessor to ISO 15489) defines the benefits of a good classifi-

cation scheme as “1) providing linkages between individual records; 2) ensuring
records are named in a consistent manner over time; 3) assisting in the retrieval
of all records related to a particular activity; 4) determining appropriate retention
periods for records; 5) determining security protection appropriate for sets of
records; 6) allocating user permissions for access to or action on particular
groups of records; and 7) distributing responsibility for management of particu-
lar sets of records.” (This list is somewhat expanded in ISO 15489.) Clearly the
importance of a good classification system cannot be understated since many
critical components of insuring record authenticity and access hinge on its design
and implementation. Any product whose vendor asserts that in his system “the
records index themselves” should be closely questioned.

In designing (or redesigning) a classification system, one of the first pieces of

critical information is an understanding of terminology. Some records systems
employ a thesaurus to assist in information retrieval and classification. The
development of this document starts with many questions.

Helpful Hints:

1. Talk to employees to gain an understanding of what types of words and

phrases are actually used to describe business activities, reports, forms, or
transactions.
2. Track the way information is currently requested, then compare those
requests to current descriptive information captured when records are
accessioned.
3. Locate resources that may identify sets of common industry terms in use
within your organization and others engaged in the same type of work.
(Incorporating those terms, even if they are not yet widely used within
your organization, may assist greatly in incorporating records inherited
through mergers or acquisitions.)
33
ISO 15489 and the Audit Trail

An element that has received recent scrutiny on Wall Street and elsewhere has
been the preservation of an audit trail. This term, though commonly associated
with accounting, is not necessarily financial in nature. Rather, it may also be used
to describe the tracking of document versions, persons who had access to certain
information, or when alterations were made to information and by whom. In their
Guidelines for Ensuring the Long-Term Accessibility and Usability of Records
Stored as Digital Images, the State Archives and Records Administration of New
York provides the following comments regarding audit trails: “Effective audit
trails can automatically detect who had access to the system, whether staff fol-
lowed existing procedures, or whether fraud or unauthorized acts occurred or are
suspected. Software is available for keystroke monitoring, time and date stamp-
ing, virus detection, and other controls that can be built into the design of sys-
tems.” While this reference is specifically geared toward digital images, the same
general principles apply to paper, microfilm, or electronic records.

Structuring an effective audit trail involves many elements that require coor-
dination. Some systems design requirements mandate that metadata be captured
along with the record itself. In fact, ISO 15489 also calls for this approach when
outlining principles of records management programs: “Organizations should
institute and carry out a comprehensive records management program which
includes determining what metadata should be created with the record and
through records processes and how that metadata will be persistently managed.”
Software structures may make the automation of this function transparent to the
user, but in the case of manual systems a little planning can go a long way.

Helpful Hints:

1. For paper documents make sure to utilize the resources available to you
through your offsite commercial information management partner. Bar-
code tracking systems, work orders, and other documentation may assist
in providing a record of which employees or departments were requesters
of information and when.
2. Where the contents of some items in storage may not be known, your com-
mercial information management partner may provide indexing services to
verify the contents of stored items that may have been inherited through
merger or other business activity.
3. A visit to your IT department may provide a surprising array of underuti-
lized software features designed to create an audit trail. Example:
Microsoft Word™ provides a “version” option under the file menu, as well
34
 as “title,” “author,” “manager,” “keyword,” and “comment” fields under
the “properties”option.

ISO 15489 and the Thesaurus

The DIRKS Manual and its related appendices provide a wealth of infor-
mation regarding the implementation of a systematic records program. The
DIRKS method suggests the creation of a business classification scheme and
using this information to drive the creation of a functions thesaurus. The manu-
al outlines a five-step process for the development of a business classification
scheme, as follows:
• “Collect information from documentary sources and interviews,
• Analyze the work performed by the organization,
• Identify and document each business function, activity and
transaction,
• Develop a business classification scheme based on a hierarchy of busi-
ness functions, activities and transactions, and
• Validate the analysis of the organization’s business activity with senior
management.”

Rather than starting from scratch, DIRKS recommends looking for other
types of business analysis that may already exist within the organization, such as
business process re-engineering, quality certification, workflow analysis or other
types of documentation. The DIRKS concept embodies the principle that records
management should be integrated into everyday business practices. The develop-
ment of the business classification scheme provides greater understanding of
those business processes and how records management functions can be incorpo-
rated.

DIRKS identifies four key “relationships” that incorporated into a thesaurus:

“Equivalence (preferred and non-preferred terms), hierarchy (“glass” is broader
than “wine glass”), association (establishes non-hierarchical relationships), and
scope notes (provides guidance and clarification). The manual goes on to identi-
fy types of abbreviations and the arrangements of those relationships. This infor-
mation is accessible online at [Link]/recordkeeping/. In creating the
thesaurus, concepts such as standard terms, preferred terms, synonyms, broader
terms, narrower terms, and finding aids can be incorporated.

ISO 15489 presents a number of key principles of records management pro-

grams. Among them are, “Assessing the risks that would be entailed by a failure
to have authoritative records of activity; ensuring that records are maintained in
35
a safe and secure environment; and identifying and evaluating opportunities for
improving the effectiveness, efficiency or quality of its processes, decisions, and
actions that could result from better records creation or management.” These,
when taken with other critical records management principles, comprise the core
mission of the records manager.

Records Classification Systems: Identifying the Record Series

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offers the fol-
lowing definition of a record series: “a series is the basic unit for organizing and
controlling files. It is a group of files or documents kept together (either physi-
cally or intellectually) because they relate to a particular subject or function,
result from the same activity, document a specific type of transaction, take a par-
ticular physical form, or have some other relationship arising out of their cre-
ation, receipt, maintenance, or (in the case of Federal Government records) use
36 CFR 1220.14. Each record series must be scheduled for appropriate disposi-
tion. The series concept is a flexible one, and programs should create series by
organizing documents in ways that facilitate management of the records through-
out their life cycle. For example, each record series in hard copy should be phys-
ically separated from all other record series. Electronic records should be man-
aged in ways that link records to their disposition authority within the context of
a recordkeeping system.”

Information that is organized by record series assumes the identification of

the particular subjects, functions, activities, transactions, etc. as noted in the
NARA definition. Records managers might use any number of methods includ-
ing records surveys, inventories, or interviews with business units. Once identi-
fied, the titles of the various records series are then arranged into an index of
records series to aid in the retrieval of information. Many central records depos-
itories require departments depositing records to provide extensive information
on any new records series. The State of North Dakota, for example, asks the
records owner to provide the name of the records series, as well as detailed
information about the medium used to store the information. A copy of
North Dakota’s form SFN-2042 is available online at:
[Link] Another version used
by the National Archives of Australia is also available online at:
[Link]

Once each record series is defined and indices or other finding aids are creat-
ed, the series is then managed according to the system design methodologies
selected by the records manager. Each records series may be assigned a numeric
36
value, an alpha-numeric value, a subject label, etc. Here are some handy tips for
identifying records series in your operation:

• Survey records creators to determine the type of information, its pur-

pose, other similar types of information created, and how the informa-
tion is typically organized.
• Determine from the records owner how they will be asking for the
information and what the information is called. (This might include
intra-company jargon for certain forms, contracts or transactions.)
• Use forms or other data gathering devices, wherever possible, to guide
the records creator in providing as much descriptive data as possible
about the records.
• Use cross-references in the index that refer to intra-company slang
terms. In other words, think like a records requester when providing
cross-references and other finding aids.

37
10: RETENTION SCHEDULING

The complete records inventory is an important foundational step in any

records management program. What organization could claim to manage its
motor pool if it did not know how many vehicles it had, what kinds there were,
where they were located, how they were used, when they were serviced? Surely,
every HR director knows how many employees the company has in each of sev-
eral classifications. The records inventory helps to treat recorded information
like other assets that require data on location, numbers, types, uses, etc. The
inventory specifies how many records series there are, what the volume for each
series is (active, inactive) normally in cubic feet, what conditions are the records
kept in, who uses the records and for what purposes, who removes records and
why, how often are active and inactive records used, duplicates if any, , formats,
related records series, the office of record, status as vital record (see list of mas-
ter retention data, below).

All records within the organization—regardless of media or location—must

be identified so that records management principles, practices, and techniques
can be applied and full benefits achieved. This is done through the one-time, sys-
tematic, and comprehensive records inventory. After a consultant prepares an
overall plan of action acceptable to senior management and a records manager
has been employed to develop the program, the inventory becomes the first step
in mounting the records management program and its services. The inventory is
a listing by department and then by records series of all information resources in
the organization. It shows all locations of records (both active and inactive), indi-
cates current and projected annual volumes, the point at which records become
inactive in the office or origin, whether the information in the records found is
duplicated elsewhere in the organization, what space recoveries are projected
when obsolete records are removed, opportunities for application of appropriate
technologies, and whether some records overlap with or duplicated records cre-
ated elsewhere in the organization.

Findings from the detailed records inventory create an important profile for
each records series and enable analysis of each records series for several purpos-
es beyond the inventory. First is the creation of records retention and disposi-
tion schedules, the heart of a records management program and a key organiza-
tional contribution. Research, interviewing, and consultation of others in the
industry feed into appraisal of each records series for retention purposes. (Unlike
appraisal of the financial values of objects, this appraisal is for the purpose of
retention decision-making.) (See Appendix 4 for a sample of a completed reten-
tion schedule.) What does research of laws and regulations reveal about the min-
38
imum amount of time the record must be maintained? Based on internal inter-
viewing and standards in the industry, what is the optimal length to meet mana-
gerial needs?

Master retention schedules will often include:

1. Name/title of the record series.

2. Records retention code showing staff receiving the records at the
records center that the records series has been assigned an agreed-
upon schedule (unscheduled records are often not accepted for stor-
age).
3. Brief description of the series and notation of any other records
series to which it is related.
4. Other offices in the organization, if any, which contribute any data
or information to the record series, noting the nature of that infor-
mation—this may affect the final retention decision.
5. Total number of years records must be retained.
6. Number of months or years scheduled for use and maintenance of
the record series under active use in the originating office.
7. Maximum number of years record should be retained in any office
other than the office of record.
8. Whether the record series is a vital record needed for rapid recov-
ery of business in the event of a disaster and off-site location where
backup copies are being kept.
9. Total number of years record series is scheduled for retention and
service at the records center (in-house or offsite commercial
records center).
10. Whether record series has been (a) appraised to have archival (his-
torical, informational, legal, fiscal) and permanent value (b) is to be
transferred to the company archives (or other location), (c) at what
point in time.
11. Whether record series is to be microfilmed or imaged (or otherwise
duplicated) prior to destruction and at what point in the records’ life
cycle.
12. If records are to be destroyed, indicate whether the records is sen-
sitive, confidential, or privileged and then the destruction appropri-
ate method to be used (e.g., cross-cut shred on site or by commer-
cial document destruction firm or ribbon-shred onsite by internal
staff or off site by commercial destruction company)

39
 While the master retention is not widely circulated, a shorter form of the
retention schedule is disseminated to all offices as a guide to compliance but pro-
vides information as well about locations of records, responsibilities for their
maintenance, which office is the office of record. Normally, the records manage-
ment office uses all of the data from the master retention in scheduling records
to come to the records center and the point of their ultimate disposition.

40
11: FILING METHODOLOGIES AND EQUIPMENT

In records management, as in many other disciplines, there are many differ-

ent types of filing and information organization systems. Two basic approach-
es—alphabetical and numeric—continue to form the backbone of filing systems.
Alphabetical filing systems are very frequently used. Two common approaches
are to file by the last name of an individual or the name of a company. Filing sys-
tems may also be designed to file alphabetically by subject. Filing systems by
last name might be applied to personnel files, customer files, or vendor files. An
alphabetic file can support a geographic filing system as needed (e.g., by state or
country and further subdivided by “customer” or “sales representative,” etc.) An
index or filing guide is optional in this method, but should be used when subject
filing, since employees will need guidance in placing files under the proper cat-
egory. (Example: would a copier lease be filed under “Legal” or under “Vendor.”
Those types of distinctions should be articulated in the index and updated as
needed.

Natural order systems are groups Six percent of PCs will suffer an episode
of files that seem to indicate their of data loss in any given year; each inci-
dent costs and average of $2,557 to fix,
own organizational grouping. including costs such as retrieving and
Purchase order files might indicate a recovering the missing information, lost
numerical order, even though an productivity, technical services, and the
alphabetical subject filing method data’s average value. David Smith, “The
Cost of Lost Data Report”
may be in use elsewhere.

Chronological filing systems are based upon a key date. A very common
example of a chronological filing method in widespread use is a “tickler file,”
where items are placed in folders labeled with a date, month, or year, and are
recalled when the corresponding folder is opened. Invoices, hotel group meeting
documents, or deposit files are all samples of items that might be filed chrono-
logically. Sometimes one filing method can be used within another method.
Depositions might be filed under a client matter number, for example, where a
numerical system might be used first, and then a chronological system.

A widely used filing method is the numerical method. Law firms frequently
file under a client matter number. Another very familiar method of numerical fil-
ing is the Dewey Decimal System in use at libraries. Numerical filing methods
are also used when file subjects must remain shielded – in the case of medical
records that contain protected health information, for example. Numerical filing
systems can also be combined with alphabetical systems such as subject files,
which might use the first three alpha characters of the subject and then number
41
corresponding files in sequence (e.g., “PER [personnel] 1,” “PER 2,” etc. fol-
lowed by subtopics such as “benefits” or “training.” Numerical methods are also
popular because each file number is unique.

“Terminal digit filing” is a specialized type of numerical filing. This type of

filing method is frequently used in hospitals and other large file rooms in order
to provide for an equal growth and activity level across the entire work area.
ARMA International’s Glossary of Records and Information Management Terms
defines terminal digit filing as “a system of numeric filing using the last two or
three digits right to left of each number as the primary division under which the
record is filed.” This method is very helpful for very large filing areas or for
records that are frequently purged, leaving gaps in other file groupings.

Handy Tip:

To use a terminal digit method:

• Divide the filing area evenly into 100 sections numbered 00 to 99.
• Assign sequential numerical values to each file
• Read numerical sequences from right to left in groups of two digits
• File in the corresponding numerical section of the filing area.

Natural order filing systems are groups of files that seem to indicate their own
organizational grouping. Purchase order files might indicate a numerical order,
even though an alphabetical subject filing method may be in use elsewhere. This
illustrates one of the most important considerations in deigning a filing system:
keep the system as simple as possible. The easier it is to train employees to use
the system effectively and accurately, the more effective the system will be. This
is especially important when considering the cost of a misfile. The Oregon State
University Archives Handbook states “14% of all files are misfiled at some point
during the information lifecycle and at a cost of $165 per misfile.”

Filing Equipment

The primary directive of the filing of information is the functionality of

retrieval. Regardless of the type of filing equipment selected, this axiom holds
true. Without effective retrieval of information, the type of equipment selected
does not matter.

42
Letter Versus Legal

An important issues in records management has been the question of the effi-
ciency of letter versus legal sized forms (sized (14 inch/ approx. 35 cm). Here are
some important considerations regarding legal sized files versus letter-sized files.

1. According to the website of the United States Environmental Protection

Agency, Legal-size file cabinets cost 13 percent more than letter-size for the
upright variety and 28 percent more for the mobile or hanging file cabinets.
2. Legal-size file cabinets require 16 percent more floor space than letter-size
cabinets.
3. Supplies for legal-size equipment cost more than letter-size equipment.
4. Within the U.S. government, legal-size files require 20% more space (on
average) to store offsite.

It is important to note that a standard records carton used by the offsite com-
mercial records industry is designed to hold either legal size or letter size files (of
course a carton will hold more letter size files than legal size files). ARMA
International (Association of Records Managers and Administrators) was instru-
mental in its opposition to legal paper usage, to the degree that they sponsored an
initiative called ELF (Eliminate Legal-size Files) to encourage the abandonment
of legal sized paper and file usage

Space Utilization

Where real estate costs are expensive and available space is limited, the most
effective and efficient type of filing equipment should be selected to maximize
utilization per square foot for active and semi-active records management.
Because costs of storage can be greatly reduced by relocating records to less
expensive non-office space and storing at a higher density than is achievable in
an office environment, inactive and semi active records with a low retrieval rate
should be moved offsite as soon as possible.

Floor Space Ratio is defined in the ARMA Glossary of Records and

Information Management Terms as “the filing capacity expressed in cubic vol-
ume of records per square unit of floor space.” In the case of a vertical filing cab-
inet, one should not only consider the physical space occupied by the cabinet
itself but also the space necessary to effectively insert and remove files from the
cabinet. 42 inches of clearance is a minimum recommendation in front of each
vertical file cabinet. Each drawer holds 20 to 25 file inches of material. This
equates to slightly more than 8 square feet of required floor space for a cabinet
43
that will hold approximately 8 cubic feet of records. The floor space ratio for this
type of equipment would thus be 1.0. When four, three or even two drawer ver-
tical cabinets are used, it is clear that the ratio will dramatically decrease. In the
case of a two-drawer cabinet, the ratio falls to approximately .36.

Basic Equipment Types

Many office environments tend toward standardization of filing equipment in

order to promote interchangeability, uniformity of appearance and use, and
economies of scale. However, it is important to consider efficiencies and costs of
operation when making any consideration of filing equipment or establishing
new records management areas.

File Folders

When documents begin to accumulate, they need to be grouped for the sake
of organization and to facilitate retrieval. The file folder is this most basic unit.
A file folder may have a top tab or side tab depending upon the type of filing
equipment used. Multiple tab widths are available. Top tab folders are used for
vertical filing cabinets and some lateral filing cabinets. Side tab folders are used
for some lateral filing cabinets and shelf filing applications. Both folder types are
scored along the spine to produce a gusset or expansion fold that provides addi-
tional space for documents contained within the folder. A typical top or side tab
folder will provide up to a 1 inch (2 cm) gusset, though other sizes are available.

In addition to side and top tab folders, other types of folders available include
file pouches, expandable file pouch-
es, and file wallets. Standard pouch-
50 four-drawer cabinets can contain 5,000
es provide sealed sides in order to filing inches in 378 square feet. However,
prevent small documents, such as 34 units of hanging file boxes in open-
credit card receipts, from falling out shelf filing can offer 9,500 filing inches in
the same floor space.
of the file. Expandable file pouches Filing Dynamics (1987)
and wallets are used to contain
groups of files that are closely related – chronological files related to a single
client matter number, for example.

Color coding of end-tabbed files in open-shelf systems offers many advan-

tages. Misfiles are virtually eliminated since a file out of order would be quick-
ly visible, even across the room. Retrieval is some 25% faster than with vertical
files since the file needed can be visually identified before the file clerk gets to
44
the shelf to retrieve it. Color-coded labels systems exist to fit almost every need,
and the union of color coding, bar-coding, and computerized charge-out systems
makes a powerful combination.

Vertical Filing Cabinets

In the records management literature, vertical filing cabinets (particularly two

and three drawer vertical cabinets) are generally accepted as being the least effi-
cient and most expensive of all filing equipment to operate per filing inch.
Estimates from the state of Oregon for the dollar cost of maintaining 8 cubic feet
of records, (the contents of a five drawer vertical filing cabinet), in a typical state
office environment is more than $2,100 per year. For this reason, the floor space
ratio is an important consideration when selecting any type of filing equipment.

Vertical filing cabinets do serve to protect records from visual identification

by unauthorized persons and, if insulated, may provide fire protective properties.
In addition, if the cabinets are equipped with locks these cabinets may effective-
ly restrict access to sensitive information, such as personnel records, research and
development data or protected health information.

Lateral Filing Cabinets

These types of cabinets come in various widths and are sometimes equipped
with drawers or pull out units that permit top tab or side tab folders to be used.
Pull out drawers require less aisle space than is required to operate a vertical fil-
ing cabinet and capacity for storage of files is more than doubled, when com-
pared to vertical cabinets. Like vertical filing cabinets, lateral filing cabinets can
retard the spread of fire and can provide some security to files stored within the
unit.

Open-Shelf Filing Units

These shelving units are usually not equipped with doors and utilize side tab
folders. They are very efficient, particularly when folders are equipped with
color-coding to minimize misfiling errors. Because there is no enclosure, files are
not protected from visual inspection, fire or security so planning regarding those
concerns should be undertaken prior to using shelf-filing units. In addition, open
shelf filing equipment is equally useful for microforms, data tapes and other
media types.

45
Compact/Moveable Shelves

This type of equipment consists of open shelf type systems arranged on

tracks. They may be either mechanized or manually operated by handles located
on the end of each shelving unit. Because only one aisle space is created at a time
within the unit, space savings of over 40% are possible through the use of this
type of system. However, floor loads are an extremely important consideration
when installing this type of system since the distribution of weight is much more
concentrated. The same concerns identified in open-shelf units regarding visual
availability, lack of security and enclosure to prevent the spread of fire are appli-
cable to this type of system. These types of systems are more expensive than
other types of filing equipment

Rotary Filing Equipment

This electronically-driven, mechanized filing system delivers a high volume

of records to the user through a circular motion. Like compact/moveable shelves
the densities of files are greatly increased through the use of this system. Also
like compact systems, floor loads are greatly increased. These systems are also
very adaptable to other types of media such as CDs, Microforms or data tapes. In
addition to added expense when purchasing this type of system, there is another
important consideration when making a buying decision for equipment that is
completely mechanized: how significantly will retrieval be affected in the event
of an equipment breakdown?

Helpful Hints

Here are some important considerations when making purchases of filing

equipment:

1. Is an efficient and effective records and information management system

in place? If not, seek guidance from ISO 15489 or records management
consultants who can assist you. In the end it will probably be easier to pur-
chase equipment to help you meet the goals of your information manage-
ment plan than to adapt the plan to fit equipment already purchased.
2. Have you inventoried records to determine if some holdings can be stored
offsite? Storage costs can be greatly reduced if semi-active or inactive
records can be relocated from higher cost office space to lower cost offsite
storage.
3. Are building floor loads sufficient to hold a more compact system?
4. Are you placing records series that require more protection in the appro-
46
 priate type of filing equipment?
5. Have you talked other records managers or your offsite records storage
partner about your informa-
tion management goals and The volume of paper-based information
has continued to grow more or less linearly
how best to achieve them? while the volume of electronic information
has increased exponentially.

The Paperless Office (2002)

47
12. MEDIA SELECTION
There are two issues that drive discussion of records media: flexibility and
stability. Digital formats using magnetic and optical media are increasingly the
choice for records systems. Digital is abundant, cheap, and easily available.
Many types of documents (e.g., forms, letters, e-mail) can be stored in a digital
format, and a large volume of text-based records can be maintained in a relative-
ly small amount of storage space. Multiple users can access records at the same
time, and digital documents can be quickly disseminated, even worldwide using
telecommunication technology. Digital is perceived as providing sophisticated
features, and it is here to stay.

One the other hand, we have had a relatively small amount of experience with
digital - about 60 years. We are learning that magnetic media are inherently tem-
porary. We have myriads of letters from centuries ago, but the first e-mail (1964)
has vanished, and NARA admits to the loss of 43,000 e-mails. The American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) has assigned a life expectancy of 500 years
to both acid-free paper and microfilm. Stories about digital frailty, the deterio-
ration of digital records, are plentiful; many more will likely emerge in the
future.

Sometimes, the user has a chance to select a particular medium for a system,
though often enough the system comes with media selected by the system devel-
oper. An ideal data storage system would characteristics such as

• Rapid access,
• High read/write data rates,
• Low cost per byte of storage,
• Backup ability,
• Ease of migration,
• Removability, and
• The option to manage data via autoloader or jukebox.

From the records manager’s point of view, the issues of retention and preser-
vation weigh heavily in decisions about media selection, and it is here that
records managers are most likely to advise the creators of the records. Records
with short-term retention (e.g., logistical, administrative), especially those that
can produce information beyond the mere data level, may be excellent candidates
for electronic formats. Long-term records may profit from the use of microfilm
or paper. Among the benefits of microfilm are

48
 • The ability to store records in less than 95% of the space
required for paper records
• Quick access to specific records via computer-assisted retrieval
and indexing systems
• The advantage of fixity and file integrity over paper and electronic
media
• Ability to duplicate and distribute quickly either paper-based film or
digital records on film (Computer Output Microfilm).
• Ability at any time in the future to scan and digitize human-readable text
on film into whatever the preferred digital media of the day might be.

While paper does occupy more space than microfilm or digital information,
its durability has been proven beyond question. Depending upon the records
management systems design employed and the retrieval frequency or need for
enterprise access to records, paper remains a very solid option for records stor-
age. Consider the following:

• Best evidence rules strongly support the inalterability and admissibility

of paper records (in some jurisdictions this is the only medium that is
considered acceptable),
• Paper requires no machine interpretation in order to access information
and thus avoids data migration costs,
• Paper is not as sensitive to environmental conditions and remains
durable even in temperature extremes, We are learning that magnetic
media are inherently temporary. and
• Paper can be completely remediated in the event of an unintentional
flooding event.

Today, there is a dual scanning technology, sometimes referred to as “hybrid

technology,” whereby paper-based records may be scanned into a digital format
and 16 mm microfilm. With this technology, it is longer necessary to think in
terms of either . . .or but as both . . . and. In order to be of maximum value, the
records manager must keep up to date on what technology options are available
and how offices can make the best use of a mixture of technologies to achieve
various objectives. This function may mean being able to converse with infor-
mation technology specialists in their own jargon.

Another concern of the records manager is about strategies to bring the

records of the past into the future so that older and new records may be read and
created by the same technology; this is the issue of data migration.

49
 Records stored in electronic formats offer many advantages. Among them are

• Faster access to information by authorized users in numerous locations

• Ease and speed of off-site backup of vital records
• Improvement of staff productivity in records creation
• Almost instant access to information
• Ability to provide records over an organization’s intranet
• Capability to provide records to customers or the public via the
Internet
• Ability to add workflow technology so that “float” between actions
upon the records is dramatically reduced

50
 SECTION III - RESOURCES

13: INFORMATION LIFECYCLE

Extensive bodies of records often become unwieldy and useless in that infor-
mation that cannot be accessed is worthless. Records management, then, offers
a systematic application of management principles to the recorded information
created or received and used in the normal course of an organization’s busi-
ness. Records management functions are part of a records (or information) life
cycle. It is here that records managers add value to records
created by others in the organization. Elements in the life
cycle of records (or recorded information) include:

• Creation—Using a variety of media and

document creation techniques, records are created
through internal functions and from external trans-
actions and correspondence. Records managers
assist in the development and maintenance of all records keeping sys-
tems. Media vaulting helps protect active records assets falling into the
vital-records category. Electronic records may also be managed by elec-
tronic vaulting. For companies who need help setting up records sys-
tems and retention schedules, there are consulting services.

• Distribution and Use—Information is shared among employees and

used for making decisions, evidence in audits or litigation, and to sup-
port other business purposes. In addition to paper-based systems, imag-
ing may be used to create enterprise documents. Open shelf filing of
paper-based records may be outsourced to lower operating costs. Media
vaulting is used to protect vital electronic assets

• Storage and Maintenance— Some information maintained beyond its

immediate use may still have reference potential. Some companies may
elect to use offsite records storage for these records in combination with
a scan-on-demand or faxing service to facilitate retrieval and delivery.
Records may also be maintained offsite using open shelf filing.

• Retention and Disposition—As the activity level of stored information

drops, it must still be retained due to regulations, for legal or audit pro-
tection, or due to standard industry practice. Offsite records storage is
used to outsource records to achieve a lower cost in a facility that still
51
 maintains high security and tracking systems to facilitate retrieval. In
addition to hardcopy records, tape, hard-drive, and optical memory prod-
ucts may also be stored in media vaults. Obsolete information is
destroyed using in-house shredding or confidential destruction services
from vendor partners.
• Archival Preservation—Some information of long-term value must be
retained permanently or “life of the company.” Some records managers
rely on microfilm imaging for long-term preservation while others pre-
fer to maintain original paper records in an environmentally controlled
vault or records center.

The value of records managers can be most clearly demonstrated when they
are involved in the initial design and creation of records types and systems, such
as databases. At this point, designing records and documents for optimal value
is important as there are opportunities here to reduce costs (e.g., labor to fill out
printed forms, operating costs for storage and retrieval), to apply accepted stan-
dards for document architecture, and to maximize access to and use for decision
making of the information found in the new records system. Many records man-
agers can bring training and experience to such activities in the design or re-
design of printed forms and on-screen templates. Here, the records manager
reduces costs and improve organizational efficiency.

52
14: BRIEF HISTORY OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Records management is truly one of the world’s oldest occupations. In fact,

making and storing records is far older than literacy itself. Rudimentary records
were made on rocks, animal skins, or notched sticks. There were also living
records called mnemones (“rememberers”) who put to memory important laws,
chronologies, and genealogies. They reminded the king of important dates—a
living version of today’s tickler file. No one, however, could memorize the
details of the countless business transactions that took place.

The first systematically produced records of business

transactions were also preliterate. Papyrus
A clay-token system
emerged 10,000
Stelae
years ago in the Clay
Tigris-Euphrates
Valley when nomadic
Paper
life was exchanged for a Digital
more sedentary approach, including
animal husbandry and organized food production. Microforms
These and related activities necessitated records.

A system of clay tokens enabled the development of commerce beyond a

trader’s immediate locale, enabled credit functions, inventory tracking, and sup-
ported records of donations to religious institutions. Individual tokens corre-
spond to our “data,” which, when meaningfully combined and structured, repre-
sent the “information” embedded in records. The functions represented in these
early records are those of commerce and government; clay-tablet records con-
taining literary and religious texts came much later (Schmandt-Besserat, How
Writing Came About). Later, there were scribes,
trained in a laborious writing system, who both creat-
ed, organized, and housed clay-tablet records of com-
merce, government, and religion.

Early records systems were not as primitive as

we might think. There were specialized file
rooms—similar to today’s records centers—index-
ing and shelving systems, and records preservation
and destruction. It is clear that these practices influenced
the records systems of Alexander the Great, the far-reaching
53
Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, and even into our day. While tech-
nologies for recording information have changed (from clay to papyrus to paper
to digital), the functions they document have largely remained the same.

Alexander may have responded to the earliest known records-related “disas-

ter recovery.” When a tent containing his papyrus files burned, Alexander’s sec-
retary and “records manager,” Eumenes of Kardia, reconstructed the files from
copies of them that had been distributed throughout the kingdom.

More recently, attention to records management heightened, as railroads,

banks, and insurance companies were the first to rationalize records programs in
the mid-19th century. As with other aspects of management, rational systematic
approaches to records were beginning to displace personalized and idiosyncrat-
ic, to recordkeeping.

Emergence of Records Management as a Professional Field

In the last fifty years, records management has emerged as a field that uses
techniques from management and the information sciences to address ongoing
problems with managing organizational records. The efforts to management
records at the U.S. National Archives in the 1930’s lay the foundation for the
emergence of records management as a discipline during World War Two.

With a wartime increase of 1,000,000 cubic feet of records annually, efforts

were undertaken to reduce recordkeeping costs (e.g., staff, space, equipment). At
the National Archives, a few staff members took special interest in the econom-
ic and managerial consequences of the growth of records, including those having
time-limited value. The successes of the wartime management of records creat-
ed a continuing interest in the federal sector. The records management move-
ment was largely due to a handful of “reformed archivists” led by Emmett J.
Leahy (1910-1964). Leahy’s career began at the National Archives, but he creat-
ed, named, and led what we know today as records management. His records
management efforts took flower during a wartime stint with Navy. Later, Leahy
formed what became the Leahy Archives, later the Pierce-Leahy Co. of
Pennsylvania (1948). Leahy became a records management consultant and a
designer of inactive records centers. Leahy was the first person to achieve com-
mercial success in records management. The “Emmett J. Leahy Award,” con-
ferred by the Institute of Certified Records Managers, is considered the field’s
highest honor. Leahy and others were instrumental in the professionalization of
records management through founding trade and professional associations. The

54
two best known are the Association of Records Managers and Administrators
(ARMA International) [Link] and Professional Records and
Information Services and Management (PRISM) [Link] The
field has been further professionalized through a certification program which
grants the Certified Records Manager (CRM) status to those who pass a six-part
written examination and maintain certification through continuing education
[Link] While librarians, archivists and records managers share
some concepts and principles, the paradigm of librarians and archivists is prima-
rily social in nature (e.g., education, research, and self-improvement); that of
records managers focuses on business and management issues.

Emergence of the Professional Records Manager

In the last 40 years, records managers have emerged as valuable corporate

staff in many organizations—public and for-profit. Many companies and other
organizations have found themselves in trouble over their records because they
attempted giving records management responsibilities to people untrained in the
fundamentals of the field. The assumption that “anyone can file” has sometimes
led to misunderstanding since records managers do not file but rather create fil-
ing and indexing systems for clerical-level workers in the entire organization.

Professional-level records managers pursue a range of functions; among these

(based on Wallace) are:

• Planning and organizing new records programs or records systems,

Overseeing implementation of new programs or records systems,
• Establishing records retention schedules,
• Educating personnel in other departments about records manage-
ment programs,
• Reviewing federal and state legal requirements for records retention,
• Evaluating records management program effectiveness,
• “Selling” new records programs to senior management,
• Developing and analyzing the organizational structure of the records
management program,
• Determining schedules for destruction of records,
• Identifying and planning protection for vital records,
• Maintaining records retention schedules,
• Establishing and maintaining a central storage area for inactive
records (either within the organization or with a commercial infor-
mation storage company),
• Supervising physical inventory of all records accumulations,
55
 • Preparing studies to determine feasibility and cost-effectiveness of
imaging (e.g., microfilming or optical disk),
• Overseeing preparation of records management manuals, and
• Identifying archival records for permanent retention and storage.

In the absence of a trained and experienced records manager, an outside con-

sultant can be employed to undertake some of these professional-level functions.

There are three levels of staff in records management: management, analyti-

cal, and clerical. All these work in a unit that typically has some form of the term
“records management” in its title. Clerical workers include those who provided
support in the records management operation, such as secretarial duties, records
retrieval and delivery, and database maintenance. Staff in the analytical catego-
ry undertakes work such as inventorying information resources, records retention
research, and supervising records destruction. The scope of duties of records
management staff will vary widely, and others in the organization (e.g.,
archivists, information systems staff, corporate counsel) may perform or be
involved in records management tasks.

When an organization equates records management with “filing papers,” trou-

ble is invariably on its way. Poor records management invites unacceptable risks
because corporate records have enormous credibility with respect to the informa-
tion they contain. Records developed and maintained in the normal course of
business acquire a special evidentiary status long recognized in the law.

There is a very logical and rational basis for the business record exception to
the evidentiary hearsay rule, but poor records management practices can make cor-
porate executives wish the rule never was recognized or existed. The point here is
that it is in our own interests that our corporate records meet very high standards.
At a minimum they should be accurate, complete, timely, retrievable, and appropri-
ate. Some organizations specify these same types of criteria from the opposite per-
spective. For example, Dupont’s published Code of Ethics specifies that no record,
entry, or document shall be false, distorted, misleading, misdirected, deliberately
incomplete, or suppressed.

Another important point here is if we truly are in a knowledge society, does

not logic compel us to bring the most skillful professional expertise to handling
the valuable corporate information as we do with other professional disciplines?
In the era of flattened corporate structures, it is even more incumbent to have pro-
fessional talent for these responsibilities because records and information man-
agement is a sorely neglected subject in the education of most other professions.

56
Sadly, most of us assume that we can handle any records or information manage-
ment challenge, yet when called upon to do that we are sorely lacking. Many do
not even know where they should logically start, yet they are likely to be in a very
awkward position when the seemingly most elementary records management
disaster occurs.

At the risk of sounding bureaucratic, the corporation should appointa senior

officer as the Chief Information Officer (CIO). This individual should have two
major corporate-wide responsibilities: (1) information management and (2)
information systems. The CIO should have a few expert staff members in each of
these two disciplines reporting directly to him or her and the organization should
have a cadre of professionals that are responsible for the daily corporate needs in
each of these areas. Few would dispute the need for the technical systems peo-
ple. That same philosophy should be applied to the information and records man-
agement area.

57
15: CONCLUSION

Recordkeeping systems have underpinned humanity’s commercial transac-

tions for 10,000 years and will continue to do so as long as there is need to cre-
ate and maintain records. There is every reason to believe that, despite the con-
tinuing ascendancy of computer based systems, that recordkeeping—electronic
and paper based—will continue as a necessary and fundamental aspect of social,
governmental, and business life. In line with this prophecy, there are seven
assumptions about the future of records systems that are useful:

1. The number of records will continue to rise and, typically, growth will
exceed disposition.
2. Costs associated with records/recordkeeping will continue to increase
(currently at ca. 10% per year) regardless of the technology used.
3. The need to retrieve records quickly and correctly will increase.
4. Ever more powerful retrieval systems will need to be created.
5. Records will continue to grow in social importance (e.g., litigation, per-
sonal/family records, entitlement, rights,)
6. There will be a growing concern about the ethical and proper uses of
records systems (confidentiality, privacy).
7. The increase in computer-based systems will grow in number and use—
but more slowly than assumed by technologists.

58
16. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 1988, Mike Pemberton, CRM, established a consulting practice, Information
Management Associates, Inc. (IMA) based in Knoxville ([Link]
These consultants address information and records management needs in organizations of
many types and sizes. Their services include records management/archives needs assess-
ments, costs and space reduction studies, records facilities and filing systems design,
records retention research, development of corporate library services, ethical information
practices, knowledge management initiatives, and feasibility/cost justification analyses.
IMA consultants have undertaken consulting assignments at organizations, such as Johns
Hopkins University, Oak Ridge [TN] Schools, Sevier County (TN), and national-level for-
profit organizations such as King Business Forms and Lawler-Wood, a developer.

Pemberton has been a faculty member in information management at two universities,

a librarian, an archivist, a records manager, and a consultant. In addition to faculty
roles at UTK, Pemberton has been the Interim Records Manager at UTK
(1997-99), a campus service unit he developed from the ground up in the mid-1980s
([Link] To date, this service has saved his university over $20 mil-
lion. In 1989-90, he created the Center for Information Studies, a research and contract-
ing arm of the School of Information Sciences at UTK, which to date has generated over
$20 million for his campus.

Pemberton is an internationally recognized writer and presenter in information man-

agement. He has authored 135 publications (books, articles, reviews) and made 95 invit-
ed presentations on topics in information management. He is the Executive Editor for
Information Management Journal, an international, interdisciplinary journal
<[Link]/publications/journal/journal_about.cfm> of ARMA International, a pro-
fessional association of 10,000 members in 35 countries. He has served on the editorial
boards of other international journals and has been published in the Journal of
Information Ethics, the Journal of the International Records Management Congress, and
Xploration.

In 1998, Pemberton became a Certified Records Manager (CRM) through a six-part

examination administered by the Institute of Certified Records Managers
([Link] Based on his career contributions and achievements in the field,
he was inducted into ARMA’s prestigious Company of Fellows (October 1998), becom-
ing only one of twenty-two persons qualified to use the designation “FAI” (Fellow,
ARMA International) and only the fourth academic so honored.

For the last twenty-five years, he has been a faculty member of the School of
Information Sciences (SIS) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), the state’s
senior, public, Research I university ([Link] He holds the rank of
Professor and teaches courses in records management, archives, corporate librarianship,
knowledge management, and the management of information organizations
[Link]

For 23 years Pemberton has served in leadership roles with ARMA International.
During 1993-95, he was Vice President for Region III of ARMA International. He chaired
two of the association’s standing committees: Education, Publications and Research
Development. Pemberton is a past chair of the inter-association Joint Committee of
ARMA and the Society of American Archivists (SAA). He chaired the committee that
developed ARMA’s most recent versions of the Code of Professional Responsibility
([Link]
59
60
Office or Department Location/Building Date

Street Address ___________________________________ Contact Person Telephone No. / E-mail Address

City ________________________________ State _____
Country ____________ Zip/Postal Code __________

Title of Record What Department Calls Record

Description of Record

Location of Record

Purpose of Record Is Record Still Created?

❐ Yes ❐ No ❐ Unknown
Type of Record Is Record Imaged?
Original – Location of Duplicates ___________________________________ ❐ Yes ❐ No
Duplicate – Location of Original ___________________________________
17. SAMPLE RECORDS MANAGEMENT FORMS

Record Format
❑ Letter ❑ Plans/Drawings ❑ Printout ❑ Magnetic Media (indicate type) __________ ❑ Form # __________
❑ Legal ❑ Video/Audio Tape ❑ Microfilm ❑ Publication/Books ❑ Binder
❑ Other _________________________________

Filing Method
 ❑ Other _________________________________

Filing Method
❑ Alphabetic ❑ Numeric ❑ Chronologic ❑ Subject ❑ Alphanumeric
❑ Geographic ❑ Calendar Year ❑ Fiscal Year ❑ Other ____________________________________
Record Characteristics Type of Equipment
❑ Vital ❑ Confidential ❑ Restricted ❑ Important ❑ Useful Use code - see back

Range of Records Does Record Have Volume of Records Accumulation Per Yr.
(e.g. 1/1/98 – 6/30/01, Li – Ru, 200 – 550) Historical/Archival Value? _____ Filing Inches _____ Filing Inches
__________ through __________ ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown _____ Cubic Feet _____ Cubic Feet

Reference Rate times Federal External Audit

Funds? Required?
❑ Daily ❑ Weekly ❑ Monthly ❑ Yearly ❏ Other
❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Yes ❑ No

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission.

File Break/Cutoff
❑ Month ❑ Calendar Year ❑ Fiscal Year ❑ Academic Year ❑ Other ___________________________

Department or Office Recommendations (Check all that apply)

❑ Destroy immediately after cutoff.
❑ Destroy _____ month(s) or _____ year(s) after cutoff.
❑ Hold in active file area _____ month(s) or _____ year(s).
❑ Transfer to _______________ department after _____ month(s) or _____ year(s).
❑ Transfer to Records Center after _____ year(s).
❑ Transfer to Archives for permanent retention.
❑ Microfilm for permanent retention after _____ month(s) or _____ year(s).
Justification for Department or Office Recommendations

61
 Appendix 2 – Retention Schedule Form

62 © 2002 Arma International - used with permission.

 Appendix 4 – Sample Retention Schedule

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission. 63

64
Certificate of Authenticity

THIS FORM IS TO CERTIFY that the microphotographs appearing on this Film-File starting with
__________________________________________________________ and ending with

__________________________________________________________ are accurate and

complete reproductions of the records of _________________________(Company and Dept.)

_________________________as delivered in the regular course of business for photographing.

Date Produced_____________________________________________________________
(Month) (Day)Camera Operator

Place
_________________________________________________________________________
(City) (State)

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission.

Department and/or Office

Description of Contents

Filing Sequence (From – To) Records Center Location Number (Records Center Use Only)

Date of Record Box Number on

(Year From – To) Transmittal

PLACE ON SMALL END OF BOX

Customer No.
[USE LARGE BOLD FONT]
Customer Name Your Reference No.
[USE LARGE BOLD FONT]
Division Code Department Code Records Classification Code

File Range From Thru

M M D D Y Y Y Y M M D D Y Y Y Y
Date
OR
Alpha / Numeric
Retention Code Create Date Destruction Review Date
M M D D Y Y Y Y M M D D Y Y Y Y

Contents Description #1

Contents Description #2

Bar Code No.

[INSERT ACTUAL BAR CODE]
[Insert Bar Code No. in LARGE BOLD FONT]

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission. 65

66
Vital Records Analysis
Group Division Department Building/Floor Cost Center

Person Completing This Form Department Representative Phone Ext. / E-mail Date

Vital Records Title

Reason for Protection (In event of disaster, how will information be used?)

Where is Record Located Now (List all principle departments or locations)

How is it Filed Now (Drawer File, Shelf, etc.) What is the Format of the Record (Computer Printout, Microfilm,
etc.)

What is the Size and Volume of the Record (Half a File Drawer, 2-Inch Printout, etc.)

Recommended Method of Protection (See Check List)

Select the Lowest Cost or Most Appropriate Method of Protection
Built-In Dispersal Designed Dispersal On-Site Vaulting Evacuation Duplication

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission.

Explain in Sufficient Detail How and Where the Information will be Protected and Why This Method is Recommended
 Vital Records Updating and Retention
How will Record be Filed in Vital Records Center: How Often Should Record be Updated
Chronologic Reel No. Numeric
Alphabetic Other:
How Long Must Record be Retained in Vital Records Center How will it be Disposed of at End of Retention Period

Retrieval and Reconstruction (in Case of Disaster)

How Soon will Information be Needed After a Disaster (If Immediately, Should be in Hard-Copy Format)

What Equipment and/or Supplies Would be Needed to Put Information into Usable Format (Microfilm Viewer, etc.)

Cost of Recommended Protection

Briefly Explain What the Cost Consists of (If it is Stored in Vital Records Center, Figure $89.00 Per Cubic Foot Per Year)

Initial Cost $ + Annual $ = Total First $

Maintenance Year Cost
Action ñ Implementation ñ Approval

Approval by Date

67
68
Records Destruction Authorization and Certificate
Department, Unit, Name, Address Department Manager

Date

The records listed below are now eligible for destruction according to the approved records retention schedule. Please indicate
your approval for the destruction unless reasons to delay exist. Your signature below attests that no unresolved (1) audit
questions, (2) investigations, (3) civil suits or criminal prosecutions, or (4) other reasons for holding up the destruction exist. If
the destruction is to be delayed, please give the reason in the space indicated and provide a revised destruction date.
Schedule Scheduled Destruction Revised
Item No. Series Title, Inclusive Dates, and Total Volume Date Destruction Date

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission.

 Reason for Continued Retention

Security Destruction Department Manager (Signature) Date

Yes No
Certificate of Destruction
This completed and signed form certifies that the records listed above have been destroyed on the date shown below.
If Security Destruction, Witnessed By (Signature) Date

Records Center Manager (Signature) Date

69
70
Records Retention Schedule
Department/Section Revision No. Effective Date Schedule No. Page

Records Series Title Special Instructions Retention Period Office of Record Total
Office Storage Total Retention

Retention Codes: A ñ Active, Current F ñ Federal/Foreign Tax Audit O ñ Obsolete, Superseded T ñ Termination, Retirement X ñ Completion, Settlement
C ñ Current L ñ Life of Product P ñ Permanent V ñ Internal or Public Audit
E ñ Expiration M ñ Month(s) S ñ State Tax Audit Y ñ Year (s)

Records Management Records Coordinator Department Head Tax Legal

© 2002 Arma International - used with permission.

18. APPENDIXES
References
ANSI/ARMA 5-2003: Vital Records Programs: Identifying, Managing, and Recovering
Business-Critical Records. Available from ARMA International <[Link] in
downloaded .PDF format or in hard copy from <[Link]

ARMA International. Glossary of Records and Information Management Terms. Lenexa,

KS: ARMA International, 2000.

ARMA International and Society of American Archivists, comps. Sample Forms for
Archival and Records Management Programs. Book and CD-ROM. Lenexa, KS: ARMA
International, 2002. (Sample forms reprinted with permission)

Dietel, Edwin J. Designing an Effective Records Retention Compliance Program. 1v.

loose leaf. “Corporate Compliance Series” v. 3. Deerfield, IL: Clark Boardman,
Callaghan, 1993- .

Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS): Manual for

Commonwealth Agencies. National Archives of Australia. [Link]
keeping/

McLean, Robert. “The Business Case for Implementing ISO 15489,” Records
Management Bulletin, Issue 115 (August 2003), 7-12.

Pemberton, J. Michael. “The Earliest Records Systems: A Journey in Professional

History,” Records Management Quarterly, 32, ii (April 1998), 64-70.

Pemberton, J. Michael. "Emmet Leahy: Patron Saint of Records Management?" Records

Management Quarterly, 27, ii (April 1993), 56, 58-59.

Robek, Mary, Gerald F. Brown, and David O. Stephens, Information and Records
Management: Document-Based Information Systems. 4th ed. New York: Glencoe-
McGraw-Hill, 1995.

Schmandt-Beserat, Denise. How Writing Came About. Austin, TX: University of Texas
Press, 1996.

Wallace, Patricia. A Study to Identify Career-Ladder Positions, Records Management

Tasks, and Educational Curricula for Entry-Level, Intermediate, and Advanced Records
Management. Ph.D. dissertation, Philadelphia, PA: Temple University, 1979.

71
19. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography and Videos

ARMA International. 1998 Salary and Compensation Survey. . Lenexa, KS: ARMA
International, 1998.

ARMA International Standards Committee, Records Center Operations Task Force.

Records Center Operations. 2nd ed. Lenexa, KS: 2002. An ARMA/ANSI Standard:
ANSI/ARMA TR-01-2002). [Link]

ARMA International. Guideline for Managing E-mail. Lenexa, KS , 2002.

ARMA International. Information Management: A Business Imperative: FAQs for

Corporate Executives and Decision-Makers. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International, 2002.

Bennick. Anne. Active Filing for Business Records. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International,
1999.
Buried Alive. Commonwealth Films, Inc. Video, VHS and CD formats. 1995.
[Link]

Dale, Tom and Susan L Cisco. Indexing Business Records: The Value Proposition.
Silver Spring, MD: Association for Information and Image Management International
(AIIM), 1998.
Dearstyne, Bruce. Managing Government Records and Information. Lenexa, KS ARMA
International, 1999.

Diamond, Susan Z. Records Management: A Practical Approach. 3rd ed. New York:
AMACOM, 1995.

Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS): Manual for

Commonwealth Agencies. National Archives of Australia. [Link]
keeping/

Dollar, Charles. Authentic Electronic Records: Strategies for Long-Term Access.

Chicago: Cohasset Associates, 1999.

For the Record: Records and Information Management. Commonwealth Films, Inc.
Video, VHS and CD formats. 2000. [Link]

Hunter, Gregory S. Preserving Digital Information. “How-to-Do It Manual Series No.

93.” New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 15489-1: Information and

Documentation, Part 1: General. Available from ARMA International in .PDF format or
from ANSI: ISO 15489-1:2002. ([Link]

72
International Organization for Standardization ISO / TR; 15489-2: Information and
Documentation—Records Management—Part 2: Guidelines. Available from ARMA
International <[Link] in downloaded .PDF format or in hard copy from
<[Link] A supplement to the standard, above, which provides com-
mentary and explanation for the standard, above, and a method for implementing it.)

Mark, Teri J. Organize Your Office: A Small Business Guide to Managing Records.
Lenexa, KS: ARMA International, 2003.

Penn, Ira, Gail B. Pennix, and Jim Coulson. Records Management Handbook. 2nd ed.
Aldershot Hampshire (England): Gower, 1994.

Ready for Anything. 21 minutes. VHS or CD-ROM. Commonwealth Films, 2002.

(Intended to improve organizational awareness of the variety of disaster-related events
that can bring an organization to a standstill.) [Link]

Robek, Mary, Gerald F. Brown, and David O. Stephens, Information and Records
Management: Document-Based Information Systems. 4th ed. New York: Glencoe-
McGraw-Hill, 1995.

Saffady, William. Managing Electronic Records. 3rd ed. Lenexa, KS: ARMA
International. 2002.

Saffady, William. Records and Information Management: A Benchmarking Study of

Large U. S. Industrial Companies. Lenexa: ARMA International. (An e-book)

Saffady, William. Electronic Document Imaging: Technology, Applications,

Implementation. Lenexa, KS ARMA International, 2001.

Saffady, William. Cost Analysis Concepts and Methods for Records Management
Projects. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International 1998.

Saffady, William. The Value of Records Management: The Business Case for Systematic
Control of Recorded Information. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International, 1999.

Saffady, William. Micrographics: Technology for the 21st Century. Lenexa, KS: ARMA
International, 2000.

Skupsky, Donald. Recordkeeping Requirements: The First Practical Guide to Help You
Control Your Records. Denver: Information Requirements Clearinghouse, 1994.

Skupsky, Donald. Records Retention Procedures: Your Guide to Determine How Long
to Keep Your Records and Safely Destroy Them. Denver: Information Requirements
Clearinghouse, 1994.

Skupsky, Donald and John Montana, eds. and comps. Law, Records, and Information
Management: The Court Cases. Denver: Information Requirements Clearinghouse,
1994.

73
Stephens, David O. and Roderick Wallace. Electronic Records Retention: New
Strategies for Data Life Cycle Management. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International, 2003.

Stephens, David O. Information Management for Multinational Corporations: A

Manager's Briefing. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International, 1999.

Stephens, David O. Advanced Records and Information Management: A Home Study

Course. Lenexa, KS: ARMA International, 1996.
Journals/Periodicals

American Archivist; Society of American Archivists; [Link]

Bulletin of the Records Management Society of Great Britain; published by the Society;
[Link]

E-doc; Association for Information and Image Management International;

[Link]

inFOCUS: The Quarterly Journal of PRSIM International; PRISM International;

[Link]

Information Management Journal; ARMA International; [Link]

Information Today: The Newspaper for Users and Producers of Electronic Information
Services, Information Today, Inc.;

Information Week: Business Innovation Powered by Technology; C M P Publications,

Inc.; [Link]

Records Management Journal; ASLIB, the Association for Information Management;

[Link]

World Wide Web

Information Management Gateway [Link] Provides thousands of
links to information management resources of all kinds.

Records and Corporate Information

ARMA International [Link]
Founded in 1975, ARMA International (Association of Records Managers and
Administrators) is a professional association of some 10,000 members in 37 countries. It
provides education, research, and networking opportunities for those working with corpo-
rate information resources. ARMA is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
standards developer.

74
Association for Information Management [Link]
The Association for Information Management (Aslib) is a professional association of
2,000 members from private and public sector companies and organizations. Aslib is con-
cerned with managing information resources efficiently for small to large corporations and
governments and on any of their issues and problems in information management

International Council on Archives [Link]

The International Council on Archives (ICA) is the international, professional, non-gov-
ernmental organization representing the interests of archives and archivists worldwide. Its
aims are to promote the preservation, development, and use of the world's archival her-
itage.

National Association for Information Destruction [Link]

NAID is the international, non-profit trade association for the information destruction
industry. It has personal and company memberships involved in providing information
destruction services.

PRISM International [Link]

PRISM International (Professional Records and Information Services Management) is the
trade association for companies providing their customers with protection, access, reten-
tion, storage and disposal of their information.

Society of American Archivists [Link]

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) is North America's oldest professional associa-
tion for archivists. It provides educational and information services to some 3,400 mem-
bers.

Special Libraries Association [Link]

The corporate-sector membership of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) has become
the predominant group in the association. Some of SLA's members are not librarians per
se but are corporate archivists, business intelligence specialists, records managers, and
knowledge managers--or may supervise a cluster of such services within their companies.

Certification
Institute of Certified Records Managers [Link]
The Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) is an international certifying organi-
zation for professional records and information managers. The ICRM was incorporated in
1975 to meet the requirement to have a standard by which persons involved in records and
information management could be measured, accredited and recognized according to crite-
ria of experience and capability. Certification requires passage of a six-part examination
and continuing certification through a certification maintenance program.

Academy of Certified Archivists [Link]

The Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA) supports and promotes the standards of
archival practice by defining the knowledge and abilities needed to be an archivist.
Certification is via written examination.

75
 Information Science/Technology
American Society for Information Science and Technology [Link]
Founded in 1937, the American Society for Information Science and Technology
(ASIS&T) is a society for information professionals leading the search for new and better
theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access, storage, and retrieval of informa-
tion.

Association for Information and Image Management [Link]

The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) was founded in 1943 as
the National Microfilm Association. Today, the association helps its trade and professional
members with information about enterprise content management technologies, image
management, data mining, micrographics, data warehousing, and knowledge management.
AIIM is an ANSI/ISO standards developer.

Archive Builders [Link]

A useful and interesting source of detailed, statistical information about a variety of tech-
nology media, their capacities, and equivalencies (e.g., X number of pieces of paper = Y
number of CD-ROMs, etc).

Business Forms Management

Business Forms Management Association [Link]
Outside the executive suite, the format of most records is the business form, whether
paper-based or electronic. Design of forms or screen templates affects the quality of the
information inserted into it (e.g., completeness, accuracy) and requires expertise in sys-
tems and procedures analysis, graphic design, and printing technology. BFMA is the pro-
fessional association for those engaged in the design of forms for optimal information col-
lection and management.

Standards in Information Management

International Organization for Standardization [Link]
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of
national standards bodies from some 130 countries, one from each country. Information
professionals are particularly interested in the information management aspects of ISO
9000, an international quality standard. The first broad-based international standard for
records management (ISO 15489) was published in September 2001.

National Information Standards Organization [Link]

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is a non-profit association
accredited as a standards developer by the American National Standards Institute. To help
achieve international consistency, NISO has developed standards for libraries, information
retrieval, scientific and technical reports, and computer formats.

76
National Fire Protection Association [Link]
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) issues standards for fire protection in
many environments. Among them are NFPA 232, Standard for Protection of Records,
NFPA 909, Code for the Protection of Cultural Resources, and NFPA 75, Standard for the
Protection of Electronic Computer/Data Processing Equipment.

Information Preservation
CoOL [Link]
CoOL (Conservation OnLine), a project of the Preservation Department of Stanford
University Libraries, is a full text library of conservation information, covering a wide
spectrum of topics of interest to those involved with the conservation of library, archives
and museum materials.

Council on Library and Information Resources [Link]

CLIR's agenda embraces the entire range of information resources and services, from tra-
ditional library and archival materials to emerging digital formats, and the entire network
of organizations that gather, catalog, store, preserve, distribute, and provide access to
information.

Contingency/Disaster Planning
Disaster Recovery Journal [Link]
The Disaster Recovery Journal is more than a periodical. In fact, it is a considerable source of infor-
mation about disaster/contingency planning, meetings/conferences, and certification in the field.
PRISM International Headquarters: PRISM International 8735 W. Higgins Road, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60631, USA
Tel: +1.847.375.6344 Fax: +1.847.375.6343 E-mail: info@[Link]

PRISM International European Secretariat Kellen Europe Avenue Jules Bordet 142 B-1140 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 761 16 00 Fax: +32 2 761 16 99 E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Copyright 2013 PRISM International. All Rights Reserved.

Professional Records & Information Services Management