In 2005, two people working in Records and Archives at the World Health Organisation — Ineke Deserno and Donna Kynaston — had this to say about the intersection of records management and archival work:

“A records management program is indispensable for an archives program.  It ensures

• the identification of records of long-term historical value and their orderly transfer to the archives
• the regular, orderly elimination of large amounts of records that have no long-term value beyond their administrative usefulness
• efficiency and economy in the management of the archives program by facilitating planning regarding space, records description, and records preservation”

They go on to explain,

“Effective records management programs ensure that records of permanent value that are transferred to the custody of an archives program in a regular, orderly fashion will be more readily accessible for reference use and will provide more reliable information for future users.  An effective records management program also ensures that records of no enduring value are not transferred to the archives simply as a means of disposing of them.”

[from “A Records Management Program that Works for Archives,” Information Management Journal (May/June 2005): 60-62]