ISO GOES GLOBAL

ISO 15489 was published in October 2001 as the first global standard for records management. Roughly two years later, it took the world by storm. Authored in English, ISO 15489 has been translated into German, French, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese, making it one of ISO's most successful publications since the ISO 9000 series of quality codes in the 1990s.

Shortly after October 2001, ISO 15489 was accepted as the Australian Records Management standard, called AS (Australian Standard) ISO 15489. This replaced Australia's original guide from 1996 - AS4390. ISO was then adopted as a British Standard, BSI ISO 15489, but was also accompanied by a three-part "public document" guide to the standard.

The French national standards authority Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) published it as NF ISO 15489 Information et documentation - "Records management." In Germany, the Deutsches Institut fur Normung (DIN) called it DIN ISO15489: Information und Dokumentation - Schriftgutverwaltung. In the Netherlands, only the first part was published as NEN-ISO 15489.

In addition to its European popularity, ISO 15489 has become a records management standard in Canada, China, the U.S., and many other nations. In fact, it took an ISO sub-committee three years of hard work to draft ISO 15489. The sub-committee had members from a global community including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Sweden, U.S. and Peoples' Republic of China.

Perhaps what makes ISO so popular is its portability. It is a model method designed to provide general guidelines and a process for any company, from any country around the globe. In one universal voice, this records management template, speaks about the importance of records management and gives detailed instructions on how to do it successfully. ISO 15489 is a true pioneer of international records management.