Bókasafnið - 01.10.2008, Síða 55

BÓKASAFNIÐ 32. ÁRG. 2008 53
Abstract
The Icelandic Records Management Association
(IRMA)
IRMA was founded on the 6th of December 1988 and
celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The main objective
of IRMA is to strengthen knowledge and understanding
of records management in organisations and companies,
both private and public, and to support and promote
cooperation amongst those who work within the field of
records management. All those concerned with records and
information, regardless of their professional or organisational
status or qualifications, can join the association. Members
of IRMA are now 230: records managers, librarians,
archivists, IT specialists and consultants, all of whom work
in a wide variety of industries, including government, legal,
healthcare and financial services. From the beginning, the
main role of the association has been to hold educational
meetings and conferences on various topics of records
management. The need for active records management,
both within private firms and public institutions, has
grown enormously during the last decades. Among the
reasons is the enlargement of companies and the growing
use of information and new technology, along with an
increasingly complicated business and law environment
and an increase in the proportion of manpower needing
information at work. The publication of the new standard
ISO 15489: 2001: Information and Documentation – Records
Management in October 2001 has been a vital support for
records managers in their work. The current emphasis of
the Icelandic government on eGovernment has increased
the importance of records management and the role of
IRMA in the nearest future.