Each organization is unique, and each has its own special needs. The first step in managing the records of an organization is understanding its needs and planning how to meet these needs effectively and efficiently. Foundations classes teach prospective records management personnel the theories behind effective planning strategies and how to conduct needs analysis and plan strategically both long and short term.
Creating and enforcing policy and procedures that follows best practices in records management is a very important aspect of having an organized and well-developed records management department in any organizations. Some issues that should be considered when developing records management policy are: the assignment of responsibilities and authority, designing and implementing a system (automated or paper-based) for managing records and ultimately, the integrations of records management into business systems and processes.
All organizations must identify: what type of records they wish to store, what type of classification system they wish to use and what type of storage system is appropriate for the information they keep. Choosing a classification system is important to ensure that an organization's records collection is organized and easily accesible. The implementation of the Dewey Decimal Classification in a library is an example of an organizational classification system in use to classify information. In addition, all records should be stored in a manner that keeps them safe from everyday wear-and-tear as well as disaster or emergency situations.
Deciding who can access what records and whether records can leave the building and for how long are all issues that should be considered when addressing access standards. The circulation of materials will depend on the type of records being stored and the method of storage. Records that are protected by law will have specific access standards that must be followed very closely.