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Washington State Archives

Washington State Archives. Public Disclosure & Public Records - A Survival Guide. Part 1: Managing Your Records. Presented by: Russell Wood – State Records Manager. This first session will cover: Basic records retention requirements What records need to kept

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Washington State Archives

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  1. Washington State Archives Public Disclosure & Public Records - A Survival Guide Part 1: Managing Your Records Presented by: Russell Wood – State Records Manager

  2. This first session will cover: Basic records retention requirements What records need to kept What records don’t need to be kept Organizing and Managing Electronic Records Overview

  3. To respond to public records requests: Understand what is being requested Locate all responsive records Apply any exemptions Provide response to requestor Managing Public Records

  4. Managing public records helps by: Knowing what records need to be kept Knowing what records you do have Knowing where the records are Allowing for systematic and lawful disposal of what doesn’t need to be kept Managing Public Records

  5. Basics of Records Retention

  6. For the purposes of retention and destruction, two criteria: Regardless of format; Made or received in connection with the transaction of public business (RCW 40.14). For public disclosure, refer to RCW 42.56. What is a Public Record?

  7. State Agencies Any destruction of official public records shall be pursuant to a schedule approved (by the State Records Committee) (RCW 40.14.050 & 060) Local Agencies No public records shall be destroyed until approved for destruction by the Local Records Committee. (RCW 40.14.070) What needs to be kept?

  8. Established under RCW 40.14.050 Comprised of: State Auditor representative Attorney General representative State Archivist Office of Financial Management representative Who is the State Records Committee?

  9. Established under RCW 40.14.070 Comprised of: State Auditor representative Attorney General representative State Archivist Who is the Local Records Committee?

  10. Both Committees grant approval in the form of records retention schedules. Records retention schedules describe: Type of records approved for destruction; Minimum period for which they need to be retained; and Which records also have archival value. Approval for Destruction

  11. For non-archival records: Retain for the minimum retention; THEN Destroy. Records subject to current public disclosure requests or litigation (current or reasonably anticipated) must not be destroyed. What happens next?

  12. Records determined by the State Archivist as having permanent and enduring historical and/or legal value. Typically only 2-5% of records have archival value. Listed on Records Retention Schedules. What are Archival Records?

  13. Archival records must not be destroyed. State Agencies must transfer archival records to Washington State Archives at the end of the minimum retention period. What do State Agencies do with Archival Records?

  14. Archival records must not be destroyed. Local Agencies must either: Keep the records themselves indefinitely; OR Transfer the records to Washington State Archives (at no cost). What do Local Agencies do with Archival Records?

  15. Electronic records must be retained in electronic format … for the length of the designated retention period. Printing and retaining a hard copy is not a substitute for the electronic version. (WAC 434-662-040) “Born Digital” Records

  16. Metadata associated with “born digital” records establishes and preserves the authenticity of the record which is the evidence of the transaction it documents. Printing electronic records (e.g. emails) preserves the informational content but not the authenticity of the record. Why Printing Doesn’t Work

  17. Conversion to an imaging system does not automatically authorize the destruction of the source documents for which images have been created. Requires “Destruction After Digitization (DAD)” approval. (WAC 434-663-600) Digitized Records

  18. Agencies need to: Retain all public records for at least the minimum retention period as listed on the approved Records Retention Schedule. Continue to retain or transfer to Washington State Archives, all archival records In Summary…

  19. What to Keep and What to Throw Away “Putting it into Practice”

  20. Know your Business - Know your Records Survival Skill #1

  21. As managers and supervisors, you already need to keep track of your programs’: Budget; Staff; Physical Assets; So too…you need to keep track of your: Records. Keeping Track…

  22. What records (paper and electronic) does my program create and/or receive? How long do they need to be kept? Where are they kept? Knowing My Records

  23. State Agencies use both: State Government General Records Retention Schedule; AND Agency unique records retention schedules. Which Schedule do I Use?

  24. Local Agencies use both: Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE); AND Sector-specific records retention schedules. Which Schedule do I Use?

  25. All General & Sector Schedules: www.sos.wa.gov/archives State Agency Unique Schedules: Contact your Agency’s Records Officer Where to Find Schedules

  26. Need to regularly inventory to know where are your program’s records: Where are the paper records? Which databases hold records? Who has what email records? Where else are my records? (websites, blogs, wikis, twitter, etc) Where are my records?

  27. Get rid of what you don’t need Survival Skill #2

  28. Much of what crosses our desks and our screens has little to no retention value. Apply GS50 / GS50-02 to: Secondary copies; Preliminary drafts; and Informational / transitory material. Work with your Records Officer Get rid of what you don’t need

  29. Tips for applying to paper records: Avoid making unnecessary copies; Use “COPY” stamps; Hold regular clean-up days. Get rid of what you don’t need

  30. Tips for applying to electronic records: Use email filters; Create more shared folders / spaces; Develop polices re primary & secondary copies. Get rid of what you don’t need

  31. Destroy non-archival records at end of their minimum retention period. Document destruction of public records: Work with your Agency’s Records Officer Sample Destruction Logs available at: www.sos.wa.gov/archives Get rid of what you don’t need

  32. Transfer Archival Records to Washington State Archives Survival Skill #3

  33. Is your agency achieving it’s mission by using resources to preserve and provide access to records indefinitely? Washington State Archives exists to do this on your behalf & save you money. If it is archival and don’t need constant access, then consider transferring. Best care for records and still accessible. Transfer Archival Records

  34. Tips for applying to paper records: Work with your Agency’s Records Officer; Start with your “most at risk” records; Incorporate into digitization strategies; Develop a regular transfer cycle for ongoing archival records (such as minutes, ordinances, etc). Transfer Archival Records

  35. Tips for applying to electronic records: Work with your Agency’s Records Officer; Identify your archival electronic records; Consider transferring archival records as part of system migrations / decommissioning; Transfer Archival Records

  36. Organizing and Managing Electronic Records Survival Skill #4

  37. Up to 98% of records are non-archival. These records will need to be destroyed someday. It is more efficient (and therefore cheaper) to organize now than putting it off. Organize to Destroy

  38. Don’t try and mange each record individually. Group “like” records together into folders and manage retention at the folder level. Base folder structure on the record types used in the records retention schedules. Applying to Electronic Records

  39. Retention applies to records within the database, not the database itself. Is the database the primary record or a finding aid to other records? Are updates to database records actually destroying records? Applying to Database Records

  40. Retention is based on the content and function of the records not the format. Websites typically comprise many different types of records with different retention requirements. Applying to Websites

  41. Some web content may be considered: secondary copies of records held elsewhere (in hardcopy, within databases, etc.). advice relating to the agency’s mission and core business. other records series relating to the core business of the agency. Applying to Websites (cont.)

  42. Digital archives will … copy state and local government web sites that are determined to have archival value either annually or more frequently. (WAC 434-662-140) Archival snapshots. May not satisfy all legal and other requirements to retain records of websites. Website Spidering

  43. Five key considerations for posts and comments on social networking sites: Is there a transaction of public business? Are these copies of other records? Can the record be kept? Does another record of the transaction need to be created? Is this technology appropriate? Applying to Blogs, Twitter, etc

  44. Your Agency’s Records Officer is there to help you Washington State Archives is here to help. For advice and assistance: recordsmanagement@sos.wa.gov www.sos.wa.gov/archives You Are Not Alone

  45. Thank you! Washington State Archives: Partners in preservation and access

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