PROSPECTS AND METHODS OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

In an organization, records constitute corporate memory which supplement human memory and serve as guides to decision making and effective planning. Records are valuable to organizations because resort to human memory is not a method of producing the picture of what actually took place. This point is readily apparent when we ask a number of persons to observe a scene and report their observations individually. The result is most likely to reveal that each person\u27s memory of the event is different. Given a time lag before the question is repeated, each individual\u27s recollection of the scene may differ still, from their earlier report. The prospect of relying on human memory is even more dismal when we consider the point that the value of information obtained from such a source diminishes as it is transmitted from person to person and from generation to generation.To take advantage of past experiences, accurate records and good records keeping are a necessary prologue to planning for the future. Records therefore constitute an essential tool of administration without which operational processes and functions cannot be performed in organizations. The importance of records is underscored by the fact that a significant percentage of organizations\u27 budgets are spent directly or indirectly on the resource. Despite the indispensable value of records, however, proper management of records that will lead to economy and efficiency in their creation, use and maintenance is seldom considered by many organizations.This paper therefore discusses the processes and essence of keeping record