Records are corporate and cultural memory which provide:

· proof of actions and decisions;
 
· a knowledge-base for action, accountability, reflection and learning;
 
· a perspective on today’s society that will be passed on to future generations.

Computers have become ubiquitous in the daily operations of many sectors of society. Hospitals use them to compile patient records, banks use them to manage customer accounts, universities use them to track student matriculation, and governments use them to distribute benefits and communicate with their citizens. As organizations create and maintain more of their records electronically, they are struggling to develop effective policies, systems, and practices to capture, maintain, provide access to, and preserve electronic records.

This course is designed to address electronic records management issues in a wide variety of settings. It will examine the ways in which new information technologies challenge organizations’ capacities to define, capture, identify, control, manage, and preserve electronic records. Students will learn how different organizational, technological, regulatory, and cultural factors affect the strategies, practices, and tools that organizations can employ to manage electronic records. Problems of long-term preservation and continuing access to electronic records will also be analyzed and addressed.

· Be aware of social, legal, and policy implications for individuals and organizations that keep records in electronic form.
 
· Understand the nature of electronic records in different organizational, technological, legal, cultural, and business environments.
 
· Be able to analyze a variety of problems that electronic records present to organizations and propose solutions.
 
· Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches, methods, and technologies for managing electronic records.
 
· Understand the implications of technology obsolescence for long-term retention and preservation of electronic records.
 
· Be able to evaluate various strategies and methods used to capture and preserve electronic records.