Revolution in Records: A Strategy for Information Resources Management and Records Management

This article summarizes the main features of a Dutch study, Omslag in Opslag, published in 1991. The study presents a relatively new approach aimed at the improvement of records management within Dutch agencies. The authors argue that information is preserved and managed because users have specific reasons for and interests in doing so. This is important because there are different reasons and interests and because each reason and interest has its own demands on records management methods and techniques. The intensity of the several interests and reasons varies with each business process. For effective and efficient records management it is therefore necessary to know the weight of each relevant interest. That can be done only by analyzing the business process. The consequence of this study is that the ratio of uniform records management methods and techniques disappears and that pluriformity of methods and techniques must be accepted. The article ends with activities planned by the Dutch government to implement this new paradigm. The authors are grateful to Tora Bikson for suggesting Revolution in Records as the English translation of Omslag in Opslag, and to Rick Barry for his suggestions for improving the clarity of the text.