Richardson - Records Management For Dummies

Records Management For Dummies

by Blake Richardson

Records Management For Dummies

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012948917

ISBN 978-1-118-38808-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-38809-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-38810-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-38812-9 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Blake Richardson (Surprise, Arizona) is the author of numerous publications on records and information management. Blake is a Certified Information Professional (CIP) and Certified Records Manager (CRM). He has over 15 years of experience in developing comprehensive Records and Information Management programs with several Fortune 500 companies. Blake frequently conducts presentations on a wide range of Records and Information Management topics.

Dedication

To my wife, Kelli, son, Raleigh, and daughter, Molly.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Mark Langemo, CRM, for instilling in me the passion for records management, Steve Peterson, CRM, for providing his welcomed insight, and my records and information management colleagues for their professionalism and dedication thank you all!

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com . For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial

Senior Project Editor: Paul Levesque

Acquisitions Editor: Katie Mohr

Copy Editors: Amanda Graham, John Edwards

Technical Editor: Steven Petersen

Editorial Manager: Leah Michael

Editorial Assistant: Leslie Saxman

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cover Photo: iStockphoto.com/CTRdesignLLC (background image)

Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com )

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Layout and Graphics: Jennifer Creasey, Timothy C. Detrick, Corrie Niehaus

Proofreader: Bonnie Mikkelson

Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

Records and information management isnt a new concept or discipline. From the moment one cave person grunted to another or scrawled the first picture on the inside of a cave wall, information and recordkeeping was born. That first cave person probably had not been assigned the title of Records and Information manager or official scribe for the cave community, but nonetheless felt a need to communicate and keep what we know today to be records.

Over millions of years, the information grunt has grown not only into structured languages that are spoken, but also into an exponential increase in the documentation and transmission of information. Most of this increase has occurred at a staggering rate over the past 15 years you guessed it, we have computers, e-mail, and the Internet to thank for our information overload. The reality is that information is a good thing. However, if not managed appropriately, you may never realize its true value, and someday find yourself in a corner curled up in the fetal position mumbling Delete!

About This Book

Hold onto to your seat; youre about to enter the riveting world of Records and Information management. Okay, riveting may be embellishing a bit, but the truth is whether youre a small-business owner or work for a global corporation, you deal with information on a daily basis you receive it, you send it, you determine whats relevant, and you make decisions, whether consciously or subconsciously, as to what information to retain. This book is not about information technology (IT); this book is about information management. The goal of the book is to assist you and all companies, regardless of size, number of employees, or annual revenue, in making this entire process more manageable and compliant with applicable laws and regulations.