Records management and data management: closing the gap

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the information landscape of organizations by focusing on the evolution of the fields of so‐called records management and data management.

Design/methodology/approach

The author draws on his personal experience with the National Archives of Canada.

Findings

Records management and data management quite literally mean the same thing. There is no “gap”, as indicated in the title. The only gaps that exist are in the perceptions of what each concept means and the functions and status of the information jurisdictions that have claimed each for their own.

Originality/value

The paper recommends an integration of what has been perceived to be the disparate fields of records management and data management, finding that records or data should be managed from a global and corporately defined perspective

Citation

McDonald, J. (2010), "Records management and data management: closing the gap", Records Management Journal, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/09565691011039825