Presentation Review: Records and Information Management -- An Overview.

• Author: HIGDON, JAMES
• Position: Brief Article

TITLE: Records and Information Management (RIM) -- An Overview (Microsoft PowerPoint 2000)

PUBLISHER: Benedon & Associates

PUBLICATION DATE: 2000

LENGTH: 114 Animated Color Slides with Sounds and Transitions

40 Pages Presentation Notes (MS Word 2000)

2-page Slide Listing With Reference to Presentation Notes Pages (MS Word 2000)

PRICE: $ 20 members & non-members

SOURCE: ARMA International Bookstore, www.arma.org or 888-241-0598

Explaining in an engaging way the fundamentals of records and information (RIM) to one's managers and colleagues -- who are likely to find an overview of the information life cycle as stimulating as watching cement dry -- can be daunting. However, with William Benedon's Records and Information Management -- An Overview, such presentations now can be made with confidence.

A certified records manager, fellow of ARMA International, and an industry icon for almost 50 years, Benedon has advanced the profession as a practitioner, a teacher, and an author. With this PowerPoint presentation, he has created an engaging introduction to the concepts and objectives of RIM that will be useful for those entering the field, instructors and trainers at all levels, consultants who need presentation material, and practitioners needing a review.

The presentation begins with a concise but comprehensive review of the RIM field and its objectives, beginning with a brief review of RIM practices. The presentation segues into the roles of information managers in ISO9000 -- an international standard for quality -- as well as the evolution and significance of standardization to the RIM field. The presentation is not limited to the U.S. perspective on RIM but rather makes us aware of the field's global evolution by mentioning contributions of the International Congress on Archives and the International Records Management Council, among others.

Although he notes that "computer and telecommunications systems have become the dominant influences in managing information needs today," Benedon focuses on durable RIM concepts, leaving to others the problem of addressing information technologies that evolve and change with lightening speed. He gives little credence to the idea that technology has the power to rewrite the role of records management anytime soon. "The prophecies of the Paperless Society that captured most business magazine headlines in the '50s and '60s unfortunately remain a myth," he writes.

Among the "valued theories" covered are...