Dr Oluwaseun Omowumi Akin-Fakorede & Orim Faith Sylvester
Abstract
Guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses, the study evaluated the records management practices and archival administration in public institutions in Cross River State, Nigeria. The public institutions used included the Cross River State Ministries of Education, Health, and Finance. Others are Civil Service Commission, Local Government Service Commission, and the State Secretariat Registry in Calabar. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, while a census sampling technique was employed involving the entire population of 62 records officers, administrative staff, and archival personnel across the sampled institutions. Data were collected using a researchers-developed instrument titled Records Management and Archival Administration Questionnaire (RMAAQ), which was validated by experts in Library and Information Science and tested for reliability, yielding Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79 to 0.88. Mean, standard deviation and population t-test statistics were used in data analysis. The results revealed that records management practices in the public institutions are significantly high; and that the competency level of staff involved in archival administration is significantly high. Based on these findings, the study recommended, among others, that public institutions should invest in the development and implementation of standardized records management policies, automated filing systems, and digital archiving technologies.