REGISTRY MANAGEMENT

Definition of terms Record management

This refers to the selection and organization of records and other recorded materials.

It also refers to an organized system by which records are created, organized maintained and disposed
off . The program concern itself with a life of records from the time it is created to the time it is either
condemned

Archives

This is defined in 3 dif f e r e n t ways as; record, building and an institution.

1. Records

Archives are records of any institution either public or private which are judged worth for permanent
preservation ie archive which has secondary value to other people than those who created them.

2. Archive as a building

This is a purpose build place for the storage of archives.

3. Archive as an institution

This is an institution entrusted with safe keeping of information materials.

Document

Any medium with recorded information regardless of format or type.

Manuscript

This is a hand written document which can be recorded.

Public Records

They are records of any ministry or government department, any commission office, board or other
bodies established under the government or act of parliament but not including records of the public
trustees, records of registrar general which belong to individuals or states.

Records of the high court, parliament and office are also public records.

REGISTRY ; This is a place set aside in an organization to help in records management ie to manage
records which are created and received by the organization.

An organization can have registry or many depending on the size of the organization. Every organization
requires a registry because their raw materials are records.
Importance of a registry to an organization

 A registry serves as a corner stone of every organization.

 Helping the organization to remember its past and also to know its future.

 It strengthens an organization as it controls the whole organization

Requirements in establishment of a registry One needs the following;

Finance

Staff both trained and untrained to do various activities Space ie accessible room where registry will be
established Security

Furniture Equipment

Stationery ie paper, pens, pencils

Features of an ideal registry

 It should not have mixed up records because handling time become more for retrieval.

 It carries out records appraisal regularly.

 Have retention disposal list, Retention is the period each record category should be kept before
disposal.

 Have a high morale staff ie accommodate the staff properly by giving them proper chairs, tables
etc

 Provide information as soon as it has been asked for ie there should be very quick retrieval.

 Have a good classification system ie the classification system should be simple to use

 Conservation policy. This is to ensure records are not damaged or stolen

 The registry should have a suggestion box. This acts as a communication channel for easy
communication.

Functions of an ideal registry

 Control quality and quantity of records created in a given organization.

 Organize all the records created in a given organization.

 Provide adequate protection of the records against the agents of destruction

 Make sure that records are appraised regularly

 Records in registries should be surveyed to determine the research value.

Types of registry systems

There are different types of registries that can be adopted by organization which includes;

1. Centralized registry system

2. Decentralized registry system

3. Controlled registry system

Centralized registry system

It is where all records of an organization are kept. It’s where the whole organization keeps its records.

Advantages of centralized system

 It saves on cost because there are fewer employees hence less expenses on salaries.

 It’s economical on space because all records are kept under one roof.

 There is uniformity in filling procedures of records. Records are organized well in registry making
easy retrieval for users

 Maximum supervision of records hence unauthorized people cannot have access to them

 There is economy in use of registry resources ie everything acquired is put into use.

 Greater flexibility in staff utilization ie you can easily cater for absentees without affecting the
records

 Elimination of work duplication ie there is no copying.

Disadvantages

 The retrieval service can be poor in centralized system. This imply that one will take more time to
retrieve records

 Inadequate Space. The records might be more due to rapid record growth hence insufficient space
for storage.

 The staff may not be familiar with all records that are stored there because the record is too many.
Most of records in archives are not used frequently so the staff may not know the record existence

 Tear and wear of records which are caused by congestion of records.

Each department keeps its records. There is no sharing in decentralized situation.

Advantages of decentralized registries

1. Faster retrieval because there is no distance covered. Each department keeps its own records

2. Record security. This result to unauthorized accessibility to records

3. Staff members are able to know their records better and therefore give efficient service

4. Minimal misplacement/ loss of records. There is little misplacement of records because the records
are few in each department

5. There is little space problem in decentralized registry because each department keeps its own
records

6. Staff promotion is faster in a decentralized situation the staffs are fewer in each department.

Disadvantages

1. There is uneconomical utilization of registry resources eg stationery, equipment, staff etc

2. Lack of uniformity in filling system in the organization. Each department uses its own way of filling
its records

3. Inadequate supervision of records. Supervision of records is not done since the supervisor has to
keep rotating in each department.

4. There could be records which are shared by the departments which result in time wastage when
retrieving them.

5. There is work duplication in record creation without central control of records. This is because each
department will require its own copy of all matters arising in the organization.

Controlled decentralized registry

In this type the managers of the department ensure that circulation, staffing, security and equipment
are efficient and economized.

To choose any of these registry systems there are certain factors that should be considered which
includes;

Size of the organization

If the organization has few departments then records can be accommodated in a centralized registry
because they are easy to maintain
Volume of records

If the organization produce many records than it is required it is likely they will affect the efficiency of
the registry.

Space availability

To establish a centralized registry you need to a big space to take care of records at present and in the
future.

Quantity of staff

Decentralized requires more staff than centralized registry. This is because decentralized registry has
many departments

Speed of service required

Handling time which is between the question and the answer ie the time when the record is asked for
and retrieval time. Therefore clients should be served in a quick manner.

RECORD MANAGEMENT

Types of records found in registries

There are various types of records found in registries and the record manager is supposed to identify all
and appraise all of them accordingly.

These records are collectively called;

Public records

They are called so because they are created by public organization. The categories of public records
include;Policy records

1. Operational records

2. House keeping records

Policy records

These are records that contain information about the organization itself under the following areas;

 Formulation/ creation of the company

 The structure of the organization

 Objectives of the organization and activities it is supposed to carry out

 Title deed or leasehold

 A copy of the act of parliament under which the organization was formed

 Memorandum of association

 Articles of association

Importance of policy records

1. They serve as evidence of organization’s legal existence

2. During appraisal these records are left intact ie they remain permanent in the organization during
appraisal serving as reference whenever need arises

Operational/ functional records

These are records that are produced during the day to day activities of an organization

Importance of operational records is that they serve as evidence of the activities that are carried out in
the organization eg admission list, finance records etc

During appraisal most of the functional records are retained about 75 %. 25 % are transferred to
archives or destroyed since their usefulness to the organization has ceased.

House keeping records

These are records created in the organization on day today basis. They support document that serve as
evidence of a short term activity but nevertheless relevant in this organization. Eg petty cash that
purchases little things which are not important

During appraisal 75% of house keeping records or more impact are destroyed. The 25% that are
preserved could be on financial issues.

LIFE CYCLE OF RECORDS

Stage 1-current stage/ active

 The records are called current or active because;

 The rate of use is high

 They are nearest to the user

 Primary value ie they have value for which they were created for

 The accumulation rate is very high because they are asked for often
  The type of storage equipment should be of secure type ie lockable

2ND Stage semi-current

This means that;

 The rate of use is moderate because they are not as active as before.

 They are kept in registries but not close to the user

 Primary value ie they are used for the purpose they were created for

 The rate of accumulation is moderate

Dominant / inactive stage

 They are dead because;

 The rate of use is nil ie they are never asked for

 The storage place is far because they should not compete with active and semi-active

 They have no primary value ie they are not used for the purpose they were created for
Dominant records may be useful to;

1. Researchers

2. Historians

3. Legal purpose

4. Escal purpose
Diagrammatic representation of life cycle of records inverted triangle

Why is the triangle inverted?

It is to represent different volumes of various records reducing downwards.

At the apex there is continuation pointing to different directions with different colors

One direction should be in archives for storage because the records have secondary value. The other
direction is destruction because they have neither primary nor secondary value.

Disposal methods

After the main appraisal at the apex point records are supposed to be disposed off. There are several
methods that are used to dispose these records which include;

Transfer to archives/ record centers

Records with secondary or permanent value are transferred to archives. 10% goes to archives and 90%
has to be disposed off using other methods depending on their content.

Other records may have some value which means they are confidential.

There are several methods to destroy confidential content which include the following;

Shredding

This is a method of destruction that involves cutting records into small pieces and sell them to those buy
waste paper.
Incrimination

This is a method of destroying records through burning them into ash.

Chemicalization

It’s a method of destroying records using chemicals

Microfilming

It’s a process that reduces the size of records for the purpose of saving space It’s usually called partial
disposal of records

It’s used for only important records. Microfilm and microfiche are used for storing the records.

Reasons for microfilming

 Saving of space in the registry

 Increasing durability of records

 Security ie records cannot be easily accessed by intruders because one uses microfilm
reader to access the records

 Microfilm preserves the original records

 Flexibility. Microfilms can be easily transferred from one place to another.

Disadvantages of microfilming

 Costly. To purchase the microfilm reader is relatively costly

 It requires a machine to be able to access the records

 They require special skills to access the information

 It requires trained staff and users

 They are strainous to access ie physical strain

MAIL MANAGEMENT

Mail management involves processing two kinds of mail ie incoming and outgoing mail in every
organization

Processing incoming mail involves the following;

1. Collecting the mail from post office once or twice depending on how busy the organization is.
 2. Sorting the mail ie separating the official and unofficial mails by opening the official or unofficial
letter and then remove the content

3. Registering the incoming ie enter the details of incoming mail and register it so as to create a
record of incoming official letters

4. Stamping activity ie putting a date impression on the letter ie received date, department,
ownership

5. Indexing the letters so as to show where they belong eg subject, application, payment orders etc

6. Coding

7. Sorting according to subject matter due to filling

8. Filling correspondence with the most recent on the top so it may be retrieved easily

9. Taking the file to the officer for action ie reading it and reply it as soon as possible

Outgoing mail procedure

 Collecting correspondence from various departments in the organization

 Inspection of correspondence. Checking the letters so as to know the completeness ie all parts of
official letter included ie senders address, receivers address, salutation, body etc

 Folding stage. Here you consider paper size whether is A4, A3, A2

 Type of the document. If it’s a certificate it should not be folded

 Type of envelope ie window or normal envelope

 Sealing

 Stamping stage. Things considered during stamping stage include weight, distance etc. this is
because the postage differ

 Franking machine puts stamp impression which indicates the cost on the letter

 Outgoing mail register is used to record the details of the letter.

FILE MANAGEMENT

File is a carrier of related information which is systematically arranged according to date with the mostly
recent on top.

Main activities in the file management

1. File creation
 2. File organization

3. File movement

1. File creation

Refers to making decisions in relation to what qualifies to be kept in files for future reference. This is the
process of receiving and filling letters.

Skills of file manager

He needs to have knowledge in filling procedure

He should have an understanding of objectives of the organization

He should have accumulated some experience in file creation

2. File organization

It follows after the file creation.

Organization is a reference to creating order within and among the files in the registry.

 Other activities carried out in the file organization include;

 Inspection with intention of checking the content of the letter to establish its relevance

 Indexing ie determining the number under which the record will be filled

 Coding ie making the record with name or number decided on at indexing levels

 Sorting. This is arranging the records in some order for the purpose of filling

 Organization. This is putting the letters in a useable order that will help easy storage and
retrieval.

Methods of file organization

1. Alphabetical system

2. Chronological filing system

3. Geographical filing system

4. Numerical filing system

5. Subject filling system

Type of records involved and type of business organization you are working with

Space ie the available space for storage

Users ie what are users requirements and entry behavior

Anticipated growth ie is it a fast or slower growing organization?

Alphabetical filing system

It’s a method based on the 26 letters of English alphabet. It ranges from A-Z. This system is the simplest
and it’s also the mostly widely used.

It is based on familiar things because it is exposed to everyone.

However for the system to be standardized in use there are certain rules that should be applied by all
filling organization. The rules include;

Initial article rule

This is a rule used whenever alphabetical filling is used. Initial means beginning or fast.

Article means it’s a reference to a group of words. In the English language alphabet include; A, the and
an.

The article at the beginning should not be considered in filling system, you move at the second word.

Numerical rule

This means if there are any numerals in the names and filling rewrite them in words.

Hyphen rule

This is a punctuation mark that is used to separate 2 compound words. All punctuation marks are not
considered in filling system.

Abbreviation

This is Use of initial letters that make up a name eg MIT, KCSE, UNESCO etc

Prefix rule

They are words that come before the actual name eg unfriendly here friend is the actual word If there is
a prefix accompanying the name it moves with the sir name eg Arap Moi Daniel. Prefix should
accompany sir name.
Advantages of alphabetical filing

1. It’s a direct access system ie the user retrieve the record direct to the shelves with ease and
therefore quicker method of retrieval.

2. Its expandable ie new entries can be inserted in the list without any problem

3. It’s the mostly widely used. This is because many organizations prefer it when filling their records.

4. Handling time is short because it is a direct access

Disadvantages

1. It become complex with time and therefore difficulty to work with as the organization grows

2. Mistakes are likely ie errors of retrieval becomes many with time

3. Rules are not easy understood thus making people fail to follow them thus misfiling can occur due
to the misunderstanding

4. This system can lead to uneconomical use of space because some letters of the alphabet have few
entries eg Q, X, Y and Z

Numerical system

This makes use of numerals or numbers.

It has several sub-systems and they include; alpha-system and chronological system

This method is indirect filing system where an index is required before retrieval can be done.

In a purely numeric system subject entries are given numbers consecutively ie one after the other and
then a list is prepared indicating the number and subject allocation.

chronological system

The figures used relate to dates.

Advantages of numeric filling system

Its expandable ie there is no limit to the number given It’s a secure method of filling ie it’s not easy to
steal files Disadvantages

It offers a slow retrieval method because its indirect access method The numbers themselves can be too
long to remember or to work with

The numbers can be transposed ie changing the order of numbers thus ending with wrong numbers
Subject filling system

It’s a system based on the subject matter covering the record filled alphabetically.

One determines subject matter of records by listing them and them arranging them alphabetically.
Under each subject area you have the subject matter covered

To determine subject names the following should be observed Brevity

The subject name chosen should be as short as possible

Accuracy

One should give the best and correct name for the subject.

There are two ways of doing subject filling. The subject can be arranged on Purely alphabetical bases
that involves;

 Dictionary arrangement

 Encyclopedic method

In these methods related subjects are combined and one subject name is chosen to stand for them eg
telephone, email, telex, letter writing etc.

These are related subjects areas and one word for them is communication. This is done to avoid subject
scattering.

Dictionary arranges subject alphabetically thus scattering related subjects. Encyclopedia brings related
subjects together.

Advantages of subject filling system

Brings related subjects together ie no subject scattering as happen with alphabetical filing It’s easier in
organization since they deal with subjects rather than people.

Disadvantages

It has impersonal kind of approach ie it’s more concerned with subject rather than people.

Geographical filing system

This is where documents are filed according to their sources ie where they come from It’s suitable for
organizations which deal with different regions.

The filling arrangement starts with the largest geographical area which consist of ; The primary guide

The secondary guide Tertiary guide Individual name

Advantages of geographical filing

1. It allows for fast retrieval of information ie has a direct access and files are shared out

2. It’s easy to control the information because one knows how to indicate information as per
geographical regions

Disadvantages

1. It’s easy to confuse geographical names and this usually happen when the name change regularly

2. Wrong name spelling can cause problem filling system

3. Time is being wasted when deciding which province district and county the person come from

File movement

This is a process that determines the way the stored information will be given out to the officers in
question and how the same file will be received back after it has been used so that the next client can
borrow it next time

It’s also referred to as a charging out and receiving them when are needed
Importance of file procedure

Lays in the fact that the file is created for the use in the organization so the stored files will continue to
be asked for as long as they are in their active and semi-active status

It’s importance therefore for the registry management to know where a particular file it is kept at any
given time

There are various procedures of information the registry manager requires to be able to do the above
effectively

Charging out a file/ charging out system

To charge is to lent a file for use in organization

There should be a charge out procedure in the registry to be used whenever a file is needed. The
content of a charge out sheet contains the following information.

 The name and subject of the file

 The borrower’s name

 The department name

 Date of borrowing

 Return date

 Signature of the borrower

 Remarks

After the file has been borrowed the registry clerk should put the borrower’s card in place of the file.
Once the file is returned the information on the charge out sheet is now useless ie is cancelled out

Charge out sub-system

A borrowed file may be required by another officer while it’s still in the hands of the previous officer
This can be facilitated through the use of a transit slip

Transit slip is a tracer sheet filled for the purpose of ensuring that the file does not get lost in between.
It enables a registry manager to know who is the current borrower of the file is

The transit slip is taken to the registry to update the old charge out sheet

Charge out system is a system within a system. Charge out helps during follows up ie sending a message
to the borrower to remind him the file is due.
Dangers of having a faulty charge out system in the organization

If files are not properly charged out they can be lost within the organization and that seriously affect the
running of the organization

To avoid the loss of files the registry manager should ensure the following rules are followed; Charge
out sheet should be filled fully every time a file is borrowed

Officers should not send massagers to collect files in the registry unless the massager comes with a
requisition sheet fully filled and signed by the officer.

No files should change hands and root before it reaches at the right place. In case of agency a transit
sheet should be filled if a file has to change hands on the way.

The time allowed for the file should not exceeded

The file should not be torn while in the custody of the officer until it is returned in the registry