Archives and records: concepts and terminology

For those of us concerned with managing records and archives it is of paramount importance that we can articulate and advocate exactly what it is that we are looking after. Before discussing how to manage them, let's agree working definitions for the material itself.

Records

First of all, let's look at the term ‘record’. Records and archives are inextricably linked, which is why this book covers both records and archives management as one holistic discipline. We need to understand what records are in order to define archives. Records consist of recorded information which provides evidence of decisions, planning processes, financial transactions, agreements – in fact pretty much any human activity. Records can be in any medium or format.

Records usually arise as a by-product of business or social activity: for example the invoice for consulting services is part of the process of letting the client know how much they have to pay on the fulfilment of a contractual (written or verbal) agreement. It is rare for records to be deliberately created for their own sake, although there are exceptions. For example, medieval chronicles, personal diaries or letters can be written with the intent of recording the author's or the author's sponsor's viewpoint.

Record: recorded information in any media or format, providing reliable evidence of human activity.

Records also need to have certain characteristics or features in order to be ‘good’ records that we can trust and depend on. It is important to know the creator of the record. If the record does not stand alone, it is important to have the links to the other records that together form the comprehensive record. These links and the author provide the context of the record, which in turn allows us to be confident about its authenticity. We also like to be sure that the record has not been tampered with. These characteristics depend upon a variety of things, including:

• • the custody of the record(s) over time

• • inherent indications in the physical record, such as inconsistencies in script, the physical carrier or the way it is set out

• • discrepancies in the audit trail or metadata of digital records.