Neither the Government of the British Virgin Islands nor any other government could survive without written records. Because they are so important, records must be effectively managed at all stages of their existence, from their creation to their eventual disposal. Currently, responsibility for this rests with Permanent Secretaries and delegated officers within each Records Office, the Archives and Records Unit and the users of the records. The effectiveness of this partnership will depend upon the degree of understanding and co‐operation between them.

Authority for governing records is usually set out in Archives and Records Management legislation. There is currently no over arching legislation for British Virgin Islands records and archives. Existing legal statutes and regulations which govern some categories of records are, for example, Financial Instructions, Section 164, governing some financial records; General Orders, Chapter 6.21‐ 33 and Appendices 1 A & 1 B, governing some aspects of Official and Personal Information,  Correspondence and Records Management; and the Registration and Records Act Cap. 67, governing some Legal and Court Records. Some legal records are also covered elsewhere in Acts throughout the Virgin Islands Laws.

Reference will be made to facilities which do not yet exist in the Civil Service, for instance, ‘Records Centre’, ‘Archives and Records Institution’ etc. However, when the Virgin Islands Archives and Records Service Act is passed, new organisational arrangements and responsibilities will emerge along with commonly used terms in the literature.

This Manual describes the procedures for managing and maintaining current records. It also sets out procedures for transferring records to and retrieving records from the Records Centre or other storage once they are no longer in current use. It is intended as a generic guide for Records Office staff.