Bangladesh Archives And Records Management Society (BARMS) is a voluntary, non-political, non-profit, educational organization established on 24 February 2009 to create awareness regarding the need for keeping public and private records and documents as evidences of history and heritage as well a nation`s memory. The records and documents are to be collected and preserved for research as well as for good governance.
These should also be handed over to future generations as their cultural heritage. These are also to be conserved scientifically and made available for future use. In recent times the people and government of Bangladesh have unfortunately greatly neglected the issue of preserving records. As a result many of the historically important records have been lost thus loosing evidences of our history and sources of information leading to inefficient governance. It was in this context that some historians, administrators, archivists and intellectuals of Bangladesh as well as of abroad resolved to found a society which would look into these matters and help preserving country`s valuable records and documents. That was how the Bangladesh Archives and Records Management Society (BARMS) came into existence in 2009.
However, it is a new concept in Bangladesh although we have a thousand years of tradition of keeping records. Hence, the Society has started from the scratch and is holding seminars, workshops and training programs to highlight the issue and sensitize the various stakeholders. The Society is working very closely with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of the People`s Republics of Bangladesh, the custodian of records of the country as well as with the Directorate of Archives and Libraries which is the nodal agency for keeping the government records for further use by the creating agencies, administrators, researchers, journalists and other as per their needs. The Society is working with these people very closely to make sure that all records and documents of importance from now on are preserved properly in respective places.
Simultaneously, BARMS is also conducting training program in collaboration with the Bangladesh National Archives and other relevant bodies for the record keepers of public and private organizations all over the country both in traditional and electronic formats. The main consideration of these activities is to develop the archival system in Bangladesh, in government, non-government, corporate and business as well as other sectors.
The recent rapid advancement of information technology has provided increasingly complex challenges both to administrators as well as to archivists and record managers in terms of automating records system and managing the resultant electronic archives. BARMS is concerned with the recent revolution in information technology and stresses upon digital archiving. To train the record managers in managing digital archives it regularly organizes training programs and workshops on digital archiving.
The urgency of proper records management has appeared in Bangladesh particularly with the passing of the Right to Information Act in 2009 which has provided that documental records should be supplied to public on demand.