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This paper aims to present a high-level summary of the US archivist’s digital mandate for 2019, embodied in the publication “Managing Government Records”, issued on August 24, 2012, and a summary of US policy. The authors then consider the implications of the US e-recordkeeping initiative for lower-resource countries.

After setting out key elements of the US Archivist’s digital mandate, the paper proceeds to evaluate its policy implications for lower-resource countries based on the authors’ field experience and knowledge of case studies.

The USA is embarking on a state of the art approach for managing public sector archives in a digital form, with deadlines approaching for all federal agencies to manage e-mail and other e-records. Although a similar need exists in lesser-resourced countries, there are enormous barriers to successful implementation of a similar approach.

The archivist’s 2019 digital mandate assumes that the technology sector will embrace the needs of public sector agencies in working on applicable electronic archiving solutions.

The Archivist’s Directive has the potential to be an enormous driver of change in the records management profession with respect to future management of increasingly digital archive collections. Vast collections of public sector e-mail and other forms of e-records potentially will be preserved under the directive, raising the stakes that archivists and records managers work on solutions in the area of long-term preservation and future access.

The importance of capturing the activities of public-sector institutions in all countries for the purpose of openness, transparency and access cannot be overstated. In an increasingly digital age, new methods are needed to ensure that the historical record of governmental institutions is preserved and made accessible.

The US Archivist’s mandate represents a cutting-edge approach to long-term digital archiving with potential future applicability to the management of public sector records worldwide.

The purpose of this paper is to examine critically the history of Records Management Journal on its 20th anniversary; it aims to review and analyse its evolution and its contribution in the context of the development of the profession and the discipline of records management. The paper seeks to provide the context and justification for the selection of eight articles previously published in the journal to be reprinted in this issue.

The paper utilises the contents of Records Management Journal (1989 to date) to present a thematic analysis of topics covered and their development over time, and statistical data (from 2002 to date) provided by the current publisher to assess quantitatively the use and impact of the journal worldwide. The paper then compares this with a series of key turning points in the records management profession.

There is evidence that the initial aspiration for the journal to make an important and long‐lasting impact on the field of records management in the UK has been exceeded because its readers and contributors are global. The volume of downloads has continued to increase year‐on‐year and the journal appears to be the only peer‐reviewed journal in the world in the records management discipline. The journal has responded to and kept abreast of the records management agenda.

The analysis is based on the work of the current and immediate past Editor and did not seek the views of its Editorial Board members, readers or contributors to the journal.

Looking to the future, the journal must seek to widen its impact on other key stakeholders in managing information and records – managers, information systems designers, information creators and users – as well as records professionals. It must also continue to develop the scope of its content, whilst maintaining its focus on managing records, and must keep pace with technology developments. It should try to influence the professional agenda, be controversial, stimulate debate and encourage change. And it should remain a quality resource.

The paper provides a unique critical analysis of the journal, its history and contribution to the development of records management, on its 20th anniversary of publication.

The availability of documentary evidence strengthens civil society by helping to protect legal rights and prevent human rights violations. Legal redress, voting rights, land registration and pension claims all depend upon the availability of records. Conversely, the loss of control of records undermines the state‘s ability to protect the people. Furthermore, in the absence of well‐managed records, information can be manipulated, transparency becomes impossible and fraud flourishes. Citizens cannot participate meaningfully in the governance process or hold government officials accountable for their actions and decisions. Freedom of Information is meaningless. The International Records Management Trust, Rights and Records Institute is dedicated to serving the international information management community. It acts as a leading resource for technical information and services through research and education. Through its activities, the Institute seeks to empower developing country governments to manage public records in support of citizen’s rights and to make public sector service delivery more efficient and economic. This article introduces broadly the work of the Trust and the newly established Rights and Records Institute and inform on both ongoing and completed research.

Records management in Africa is increasingly influenced by two global developments: public service reform initiatives and computerisation. The national archival organisations, which have statutory responsibility for records management in the public sector, have been severely under‐resourced for many years but now have new opportunities to develop a much higher profile. The situation presents a range of new challenges, and not all are agreed on the best way forward. However, professionals and educators across the continent are re‐evaluating their role and many are taking a holistic view encompassing the needs of users at all stages of the records lifecycle or continuum. This attitude is earning the respect of senior public officials who are increasingly recognising records management as an important aspect of public sector reform.

Perhaps some of the most exciting features in the development of archival services in Africa are the regional workshops on the management of current and semi‐current records which have now become a regular event in West Africa. The workshops, which are normally organised under the umbrella of the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM), have taken us away from the idea of closed‐door conferences and seminars to practical problem‐solving workshops. The Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers is an organisation which aims to link archivists, archival institutions and records managers whose governments are within the Commonwealth system. Although the association has been in existence for a fairly short period its activities have already begun to be felt among Commonwealth member states and especially in West Africa.