Keeprecords

Keeprecords is a term used to describe the systematic practice of creating, maintaining, and disposing of records in a manner that preserves usefulness, accountability, and compliance. It covers both physical records, such as paper files and manuals, and digital records, such as documents, emails, and databases. The aim is to ensure information remains retrievable, authentic, and usable over time.

Principles and objectives: The keeprecords approach emphasizes correct creation, reliable capture of information, consistent classification, and the application of retention schedules that specify how long records should be kept and when they should be destroyed. It supports legal and regulatory compliance, enables audits, and facilitates operational decision-making and institutional memory.

Core practices include: establishing clear record creation and capture processes; applying metadata and indexing; developing and using classification schemes; maintaining version control and change management; enforcing access controls and privacy protections; ensuring secure storage and regular backups; implementing retention schedules; and conducting periodic disposal and audits to verify policy adherence.

Technology and standards: Digital recordkeeping relies on document management systems, email archiving, cloud storage, and archival repositories. Standards such as ISO 15489 (Records management) and ISO 16175 (Information governance and management of records) provide guidance on governance, metadata, and interoperability.

Governance and roles: Organizations typically appoint a records manager or information governance lead who defines retention policies, oversees compliance with laws, and conducts audits. Collaboration among data stewards, IT, and business units is essential to maintain security, accessibility, and data integrity.

See also: records management, information governance, data governance.