I think I may have put this info out to the listserv several years
ago; cannot remember. Here is some information from an article I
researched and wrote initially for the ICRM on its origins; written
for their 25th Anniversary celebration in 2000. While researching it
I also found info on early RIM-related organizations; which eventually
led to the original ARMA and AREA, then to the Association of Records
Managers and Administrators, Int.; and subsequently to the current
ARMA Int. I did not have any early Canadian RIM history to
include...
<snip>
Origins of the Institute of Certified Records Managers Steven D. Whitaker, CRM
ICRM Regent - Public Relations and Professional Issues
The Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) is an
international certifying organization of and for professional records
and information managers. The ICRM was incorporated in 1975 to meet
the requirement to have a standard by which persons involved in
records and information management could be measured, accredited and
recognized according to criteria of experience and capability
established by their peers. The ICRM is an independent non-profit
organization administered by a Board of Regents (the Board) in
accordance with the Constitution and By-laws of the Institute. The
primary objective of the ICRM is to develop and administer the program
for professional certification of records managers, including
certification examinations and a certification maintenance program.
The ICRM serves as the official certifying body for both the
Association of Records Managers and Administrators, International,
(ARMA International) and the Nuclear Information Records Management
Association (NIRMA).
To understand why the Institute of Certified Records Managers was
established, we must first learn about the early records-related
professional associations.
The Warren Filing Association was founded in Chicago in 1917 during
World War I. The Chicago Filing Association was established in 1932.
Several of the chapters consisted primarily of file personnel. The
Records Management Association of Chicago was incorporated in 1952.
In 1957, the Records Management Association of Chicago was
reincorporated as the Chicago Chapter of the American Records
Management Association.
The Filing Association of New York was founded in 1920 in New York
City. In the early 1950s the organization was renamed as the Records
Management Association of New York, which was incorporated in 1955.
Twelve records managers in New York formed the Association of Records
Executives and Administrators (AREA) in 1955. At that time, some
believed that the other records-related organizations were centered
too much on filing and retrievals, and not enough on the management
aspects of records. AREA membership increased steadily, and other
chapters were chartered in the mid 1960s.
The American Records Management Association (original ARMA) was
established by Jack Britt, records manager of Ford Motor Company. Mr.
Britt organized the original ARMA by bringing together a number of
chapters from the Records Management Association of Chicago, and from
the Records Management Association of New York.
In 1972 the original ARMA produced and distributed a brochure
announcing that a certification program by examination would be
established. The principal motivation for certification was to
establish a strong professional standing, raise the professional
level, and to recognize that a person certified as a records manager
had broad professional experience in the field.
An ARMA committee was established to develop the certification
process. Olive Surgen was chair, and Charles Garrison, David Goodman,
and Mary Robek were some of the original members. The first
examination was given in the Fall of 1974, with disastrous results.
None of the candidates taking the examination passed.
Some Association of Records Executives and Administrators (AREA)
members felt that the certification would be limited to members of
ARMA. A decision was made to develop a separate and completely
independent certification organization to represent both ARMA and
AREA. The American Records Management Association and the Association
of Records Executives and Administrators each appointed five members
to the unnamed certification organization. Thornton Mitchell, Stanley
Gordon, Bill Benedon, Mary Robek, and Bill Rofes were appointed as
representatives by the American Records Management Association. Joe
Pomrenze, Ruth Thomas, Kay Mutchler, Dudley Judd, and Mark Koenig were
named to represent the Association of Records Executives and
Administrators.
Bill Benedon and Thornton Mitchell were assigned the task of drafting
by-laws for consideration by the Board. Thornton reported that Bill
developed the draft. The committee members, plus Ben Oliver, Charles
Garrison, and David Goodman met for the first time in New York on
January 6 and 7, 1975. AREA President Ben Oliver presided at the
meeting. ARMA President Gerry Brown was supposed to co-preside at the
meeting, but was not able to attend. The group examined the Benedon
draft by-laws almost word for word. Ruth Thomas had been designated
secretary pro-tem and both she and Bill Benedon took notes. Thornton
Mitchell also took notes. Ruth and Bill met until late in the evening
(about 2 AM) to develop a version of the by-laws upon which the Board
could take final action on the next day. On several occasions that
evening, Thornton Mitchell was called upon to come meet with them.
Ruth then developed a “final” draft version of the by-laws.
On January 7, the Board met again, reviewed and approved the by-laws
with some modifications, and established fees and annual dues.
Officers were elected. Bill Benedon was nominated for President but
declined because he had been asked to serve as Program Chair for the
next annual ARMA meeting. Bill Rofes was then elected President, Joe
Pomrenze was elected Vice President, Ruth Thomas was elected
Secretary, and Thornton Mitchell was elected Treasurer. The original
by-laws called for the leader’s title to be Chairman, but Mary Robek
objected that the title was sexist. Thornton Mitchell objected to
using the term Chairperson to designate the leader of the ICRM, so the
title on his motion was changed to President.
Joe Pomrenze suggested naming the organization the Institute of
Certified Records Managers. It is believed that the Board referred to
themselves as “Regents” because both ARMA and AREA had Boards of
“Directors.”
There were no major disagreements among members of the group. An
early agreement was that there would be two initial means of
certification–by examination and ‘by review’, which was the term
applied to certification on the basis of review of the candidate’s
education and specific professional experience. The draft by-laws
proposed that candidates by examination and review would be required
to have a college degree. There was some disagreement on this point.
The U.S.
Civil Service standards at that time both for archivists and analysts
permitted the substitution of two years experience for one year of
college, and eight years of professional experience was considered the
equivalent of a degree. After considerable discussion, the Board
agreed on either a degree or eight years of professional records
management experience as a requirement.
The Board had no difficulty in agreeing on three years of professional
experience as a prerequisite to take the examinations. The board also
agreed that the experience had to be gained in multiple areas of
records management, and that clerical work was not qualifying
experience. The Board had no significant disagreement on
certification by review. It was believed that to establish credibility
the organization had to include the best in the records management
profession. It was established that the certification by review would
have the most stringent requirement. Certification by review required
ten years of high-standard professional experience, an appropriate
college degree or eight additional years of experience, and for the
candidate to have published. This is a normal process for new
certification organizations. The certification by review was open for
two years. Over three hundred candidates applied for certification by
review, and each one was individually considered. Two hundred forty
seven candidates were approved by review.
The original agreement between The American Records Management
Association and the Association of Records Executives and
Administrators provided that the first ten Regents, Benedon, Rofes,
Mitchell, Pomrenze, Thomas, Gordon, Koenig, Robek, Mutchler, and Judd
would be automatically certified. The ten Regents agreed, in order to
avoid criticism, that they would each qualify for certification by
review.
The ICRM Board of Regents met for the second time in Washington D.C.
in March of 1975. At that time the first certifications by review
were approved. One early disagreement involved certifications by
review for Records Management educators. The disagreements were
resolved by requiring submissions of course outlines and syllabi. The
first CRM examinations were administered in the fall of 1975. It is
reported that when Bill Benedon became Vice-President, the ICRM Board
turned their full attention to improving the contents of the
examinations. The ICRM Board voted to incorporate in North Carolina.
Thornton Mitchell managed the process and was helped by friends who
worked in the Office of the NC Secretary of State. The total cost of
incorporation was $28, including recording fees. Thornton continued
on the Board as the ICRM Treasurer until the end of 1978.
The American Records Management Association and the Association of
Records Executives and Administrators merged in 1975 and became the
Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA), as it is
still known today. The need for a records management professional
standard and a certification organization brought two professional
associations together, as well as establishing the ICRM.
In 2000 the Institute of Certified Records Managers celebrates its
Silver Anniversary. The ICRM now has over seven hundred fifty
members, and the membership is served by eleven voting Regents and
Officers, one non-voting Senior Board Advisor, and by numerous
dedicated CRM volunteers. The ICRM is the official certifying body
for the Association of Records Managers and Administrators, and the
Nuclear Information and Records Management Association. The ICRM is
currently discussing providing certification services to several other
records and information
management professional associations. The ICRM is also developing
plans to offer the certified records managers examinations in
languages other than English. To learn more about the ICRM, reference
the ICRM’s web site at http://www.icrm.org.
NOTE: Mr. Thornton Mitchell, CRM, provided some historic information
for this article. A very special thanks and appreciation to Mr.
Mitchell for his efforts.
<snip>
Best regards, Steve
Steven D. Whitaker, CRM, IGP
On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 9:12 AM, Glen Sanderson
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I think someone needs to tap the collective thoughts of the ARMA (Dang I can't think of the name of the people that are recognized for their longevity and knowledge (someone help me on that one)). I think Preston Shimer and Pat Vice may have that recognition. Get some of their thoughts from the early days timeline it to now.
<snip>
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