Basic Records
Management Concepts
OT 122
Chapter One
Intro
• We’ll use this book for the 1st half of quarter
– Blue cardboard box and ‘Retrieval Exercises’
– Don’t work ahead 
– So little homework 
• Access 2nd half of quarter
– Please be computer…literate…?
– Know how to open, save, new, etc.
Why is Records Management
Important?
• MONEY!!!
– Things may be lost
• Require time (money) to be found or redone
– Legally required
• Medical, education, government (taxes, birth and death
certificates)
– All businesses use some sort of records
management!!
• Even if customers aren’t tracked, then suppliers?
The Cycle of Records Management
• “Life” cycle of a record
– Creation
– Use
– Storage
– Retrieval
– Disposition
• Can vary depending on the type of record
– Legally required?
– How/why created?
– How received?
– What form?
Impact of Technology
on Records Management
• Umm…DUH!
– Less paper
– Cheaper
– Faster
– Easier
– Safer (more secure)
• Can see who’s been looking at what
ARMA.org
• Originally stood for Association of Records
Managers and Administrators
• Professional organization
• Ok to look at, but really nothing but a sales
pitch…
– Register for certifications, online courses
– Subscribe to journals
– Purchase other related materials
Would you like a career
in Records Management?
• LOTS of options
• Successful candidate qualities?
– Database literate
– Trustworthy with sensitive information
– Ability to delegate
• You probably won’t be able to do EVERYTHING in the
cycle!
– Ability to determine what needs to be handled
Records Management Vocabulary
• Accession log
– List of code numbers assigned to each record that
shows the next available code number in a
numeric filing system
• Aka accession book OR…number list.
• Bar code
– Do you really need this definition?!
– Unique pattern of printed vertical lines and spaces
containing information that is read electronically
Records Management Vocabulary
• CD and DVD, -R, -ROM, -RW, and WORM
– Compact disc and Digital Versatile discs
• BOTH defined as ‘optical discs’
– R = Recordable
• Record once, replay infinitely
• Same as a WORM
– Write Once, Read Many
– ROM = Read Only Memory
• Pre-recorded
– RW = Rewritable
• Can record and then record over
Records Management Vocabulary
• Charge out & follow up
– Procedure for fulfilling requests to borrow records
(charge out) and for making sure that records are
returned on time and refiled correctly (follow up)
• Coding
– Marking the units in the name or subject under which
a record will be filed
• Correspondence
– Incoming AND outgoing communication in written
form
• Snail mail, email, faxes, etc.
Records Management Vocabulary
• Cross-reference
– Hopefully another ‘duh’
– An entry directing attention to another related
heading.
– Directs a person to look elsewhere for a record or
more information
• Database
– File of related records all of which should share
the same fields
• Completed customer app will have name, address,
social and DOB, etc.
Records Management Vocabulary
• Digital record
– Created by a computer system
• E-mail
– Electronic mail
– Incoming and outgoing messages sent
electronically by way of computer networks
• Fax
– Facsimile
– Machine that scans a document and converts it to
electronic signals to send, and converts the signals
and prints a copy to receive
Records Management Vocabulary
• Field
– A position set aside for a specific type (piece) of
information
• Name, address, phone number, etc.
Records Management Vocabulary
• File
– A collection of related records arranged in a
systematic way and stored either manually or
electronically
• Ex. A patient’s medical history with a particular doctor
– All visits for that patient (‘related records’) are stored in the same
file (systematic by customer name), probably in order of date of
visit
• Filing
– Arranging records into predetermined sequences
•
•
•
•
Alphabetic
Numeric
Subject
Date
Records Management Vocabulary
• Filing indexing unit
– A number, letter, or word (or any combo) used as part
of the filing segment
• Filing segment
– The entire name, subject, or number used for filing
purposes
• Guide
– Divider with a captioned tab that is used to separate
and identify sections in a file to facilitate retrieval of
records
Records Management Vocabulary
• Indexing
– Selecting the filing segment under which to store
a record and determining the order in which the
units should be considered
• Proper names or business names with several words
• Information
– Data that are contained in records and that are
meaningful or useful
– Data is the raw, information is processed
Records Management Vocabulary
• Microimage records
– Records that are photographed in reduced sizes
and stored on microfilm or microfiche.
• OCR
– Optical Character Recognition
– The process of scanning printed characters or
photos and converting them to digital format
– Like a fax machine without sending; just stores the
information
Records Management Vocabulary
• Records
– All materials preserved for future reference
• Records manager
– Person responsible for controlling the cycle of an
organization’s records, as well as the maintenance,
protection, and preservation
• Cycle?
– Creation, use, storage, retrieval, disposition
Records Management Vocabulary
• Records retention & disposition schedule
– List of types of records that indicates for each type
how long it is to be maintained and when it may
be destroyed
• Release mark
– Symbol placed on a record, usually in the form of
initials, a code, or a stamp, indicating that the
record is ready to be filed