Abstract:
This study is designed to assess the effectiveness of Records and Archives Management Division
(RAMD) in managing and developing efficient, effective and sustainable records. Four specific
objectives with their research questions were worked upon, namely to identify skills and
qualifications of staff and what programmes if any exist for training them, to develop efficient,
effective and sustainable records keeping system, and challenges RAMD faces and to seek their
views and suggestions for improving management of archival materials. The study was carried
out of RAMD. A case study design informed the study with 50 respondents who were one (1)
Managing Director, three (3) Assistant Directors, five (5) Heads of sections, twenty (20) users of
RADM. Purposive sampling was employed in this study which involved the selection of those
participants who portrayed the key characteristics or elements with the potential of yielding the
right information. Data was collected using questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and structured
observation. The data collected was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis using
the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and content analysis, respectively. Among the
study findings were that records and archives services had improved records management.
Record Management at RAMD was revealed to be not very efficient as rated by the majority of
workers and users who participated in the study. Resources and methods used in creating and
managing records are inaccurate and inadequate Constraints accounting for this include
inadequacy of financial, human and technical resources and lack of records management policy.
The study recommends that there should be sufficient budgetary allocation for records
management; computerization of records management systems and procedures as well as
developing records management policy.
