If you arrived at your office tomorrow morning and discovered that everyone had been transferred, retired, promoted, or fired except you, one fact would remain the same . . . The Records Management Section of the Library and Archives Division of the Kansas State Historical Society developed the Kansas State Records Management Manual to encourage effective and efficient management of state government records. The manual's purpose is to provide state agencies with a convenient source of information on records management policies, procedures, practices, and services. Kansas Statutes Annotated and Kansas Administrative Regulations describe the responsibilities of the state records board, state agencies, records officers, the state records center, and the state archives in managing the state's records. The Records Management Manual includes detailed discussions of these responsibilities as well as the text of relevant statutes and administrative regulations.
Records are a resource critical to the operation of state government.
They serve as the organizational memory, providing evidence of past activity and forming the basis for future actions. State records may furnish proof of a particular action, contain information that protects the rights of individuals or the government, and document decisions made during the course of state business. Rapidly evolving technology and accompanying changes in record keeping practices have added to the challenges faced by agencies striving to manage their records. Records formerly maintained in bound volumes or paper files frequently exist only on microfilm, computer hard drives, magnetic tapes, CD-ROM's, or optical disks. Regardless of format, state records are as valuable now as they have ever been, and proper management of these records is the responsibility of each state agency.