Information Is Everywhere. Manage It Well with the Online Graduate Certificate in Records and Information Management

How an Unexpected Career Turned into Two

McKay didn't originally set out to become a records management professional.

After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature, she found herself with "absolutely no professional job prospects." She accepted an administrative position at her alma mater, where a former faculty advisor suggested she consider library school.

"As soon as I heard it," McKay recalled, "and without knowing anything about the degree, I knew that was my calling."

She enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on special libraries while developing an interest in records and information management. After nearly a decade working as a forensic engineering librarian, she noticed something changing.

"The job market was stronger for records and information management than it was for librarians."

That pivot led her to Valero, where she has worked as a records manager since 2007. Years later, a former colleague—now LSU faculty member and head of the CRIM program, Wendy McLain—invited her to teach in the online LSU School of Information Studies CRIM program.

"Now I'm enjoying a second career."

Instructor McKay Brings Industry Experience to the Classroom

Because McKay continues working full time as a records manager in the petroleum refining industry, students gain exposure to challenges that extend well beyond textbooks.

"Theory and the principles of professional practice are the primary purpose of the School of Information Studies," she said, "but the CRIM program supplements that with vocational education as well."

She regularly introduces students to concepts they will encounter throughout their careers, including business process engineering, project scoping, gathering requirements, and communicating across every level of an organization. “I find value in demonstrating to students how theory is actually applied in corporate or government environments.”

Working in a highly regulated industry also helps her connect classroom discussions to real-world compliance requirements.

“Refining is a heavily regulated industry, subject to audits and regulations from environmental, safety, transportation, labor, and manufacturing agencies. This helps me find common ground with my CRIM students who are employed (or seeking employment) in the government sector. Agencies at all levels of government are subject to numerous regulations that control their record programs, so presenting ideas in the language of ‘compliance’ resonates with them.”

Why Records Management Matters 

Many people might hear "records management" and still picture filing cabinets. Today's management of data couldn't be more different.

Organizations now generate petabytes of digital information every year, but according to McKay, only a small percentage becomes official business records worth preserving.

"Businesses generate petabytes of data in a single year, but only around 5% of that volume are high-value, official records," she explained.

To illustrate the field further, McKay said, “As anyone who's ever cleaned out a garage knows, you can't find the useful or expensive stuff unless you clear out all the other junk, put the good stuff in boxes, then label them clearly. That's records management.”

“Put a good lock on the door, give the keys only to people you trust, and limit the kind of stuff that can be stored in the garage. That's information governance. Both disciplines help businesses run more efficiently, comply with the law, and meet the standards of their industry. Consumers are protected when companies limit the amount of personal data collected and protect their data from theft.“

Critical Thinking Is More Essential Than Ever

Artificial intelligence has made finding information faster than ever. McKay believes it's also made evaluating information more challenging.

"I don't think AI is doing information literacy any good," she said.

She frequently hears people begin conversations with, "Well, ChatGPT says..." as though AI itself were an authoritative source.

"AI delivers responses in a friendly, confident tone which satisfies the casual researcher," McKay explained. "But information authority derives from vetting its sources."

She worries that many users place too much trust in answers they can't independently verify. "Users can't vet an AI's sources, but they trust and repeat its answers—thus feeding that information back into the algorithm like an ouroboros of ignorance, if I may be permitted a poetic moment."

“Even though plenty of media highlights its hallucinations, bias, and positive-reinforcement responses, I don't believe that message is reaching audiences in a meaningful way,” she said.

For McKay, this isn't just a technology issue or a corporate issue. It’s an issue that requires effective governance.

One of the questions she's most passionate about exploring is how society can keep up with the legal and ethical questions the technology creates. “How do we close the gap between new information technology and the laws and ethics around its use?”

“AI is the perfect example of this. AI developers power their systems using human knowledge taken without permission or curation," she said. "Is this theft?"

She also asks students to think critically about accountability. "Consider situations where a company or government took action based on an AI's conclusion and that action caused tangible, significant harm. Who is responsible: the company, the AI developer, or the individual who authorized the action? Laws take time and precedent to develop, and ethicists need time to deliberate. Technology outpaces governance, potentially to everyone's detriment, as anyone who had their environment affected by the proliferation of data centers can attest."

Those are exactly the kinds of governance questions records and information professionals will increasingly help organizations answer.

Information Careers Extend Beyond Libraries

McKay began her own career as a librarian, so she understands why many people still associate information studies with libraries.

Today's graduates, however, can pursue careers across nearly every industry. Graduates find careers as data privacy officers, cybersecurity specialists, records managers, data scientists, digital archivists, and enterprise system architects.

The ubiquity of data is why the field has become so essential and why the job opportunities are vast.

"The end result of all human endeavors is data. Data becomes information; information becomes records; records become history. But that's all worthless unless it's protected, accessible, and curated,” McKay said. “Careers exist anywhere along that continuum.”

An Important Skill Many Students Don’t Expect

Despite teaching in a technology-focused field, McKay believes one of the most valuable skills students can develop has little to do with software.

"If I'd known how much this job involved working with people, I'd have become an actuary," she joked. “Managing information is easy—it doesn't care where it's stored, how it's described, or how long it's useful. Convincing a senior vice-president to delete her 15-year-old email about a project that was cancelled 10 years ago when she was still a marketing analyst? That's hard."

Experiences like these have reinforced a lesson she hopes every student takes away from her courses.

"Communication skills, both written and verbal, are essential in this field…I sincerely hope that my students improve their business writing skills."

Whether graduates work in records management, archives, cybersecurity, or information governance, clear communication remains essential. “All information science careers involve written communication, regardless of the discipline chosen," she said. "Poor writing skills torpedo a program's chance of success and damage your professional credibility."

Whether graduates are writing grant applications, requests for proposals, cost-benefit analyses, or community outreach plans, communication plays a direct role. She frequently reminds students that even the strongest ideas lose impact if they aren't communicated effectively.

Build a Career in One of Today's Fastest-Growing Fields

As organizations generate more digital information than ever before, professionals who understand records management, information governance, compliance, and digital preservation remain valuable across both the public and private sectors.

LSU's online Certificate of Records and Information Management prepares students to manage information throughout its lifecycle while developing practical skills in records management, information governance, compliance, and digital information systems.

For McKay, it's a program she wishes had existed when she was making her own career transition.

"I wish LSU's CRIM program had been available at that time because I had to learn a lot on my own," she said. "Having a degree with the additional certification in records management will make you more marketable and open up additional career options."

Learn more about the online Certificate of Records and Information Management from LSU and apply today!