Information and Records Management

1. Information and Records Management Indiana Commission on Public Records 402 W. Washington St. - Rm. W472 - Indianapolis IN 46204 http://www.IN.gov/icpr Amy Robinson, Records Analyst arobinson@icpr.in.gov 317-232-3285

2. Topics 1. ICPR and You: Working Together to Manage Agency Records 2. What are Public Records? 3. Records Management: What’s the Big Deal? 4. Records Management: How do I DO that? 5. Special Issue: Electronic Records

3. The Commission on Public Records andYou

4. ICPR Mandate The ICPR shall do the following: Establish a state wide records management program, prescribing the standards and procedures for recordmaking and recordkeeping. IC 5-15-5.1-5 (4)

5. ICPR Divisions • Forms Management • Records Management • Micrographics • Records Center • State Archives

6. Agency Records Coordinator • Employee from your agency who is officially designated to be the first point of contact with ICPR and sign off on records management documents • Listed by agency on the ICPR website • Other agency staff often work with ICPR on specific projects or to transfer records for storage

7. What Can You Do To Manage Your Records Effectively? 1. Maintain an efficient file structure in your office 2. Become familiar with records retention schedules and how to read them 3. Work with ICPR to keep those records retention schedules up to date

8. What Can You Do To Manage Your Records Effectively? 4. Be aware of any special issues with electronic records, and include your technology staff in decisions about them 5. Become familiar with records transfer, storage, and destruction procedures 6. Teach what you learn about records management to others in your agency!

9. Public Records:What Are They?

10. What is a Public Record? Any writing, paper, report, study, map, photograph, card, tape recording, or other material that is created, received, retained, maintained, used or filed by a public agency and which is generated on paper, paper substitutes, photographic media, chemically based media, electronically stored data, or any other material, regardless of form or characteristics. IC 5-14-3-2 (9)

11. Public Access A fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government is that government is the servant of the people and not their master. Accordingly, it is the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees. IC 5-14-3-1

12. Public Access Counselor Phone: (317) 233-9435 1-800-228-6013 pac@icpr.in.gov www.IN.gov/pac

13. Public Access Counselor Deals with the public and state and local government agencies on issues of: • Access to Public Records • Confidentiality • Privacy

14. Records Management: What’s the Big Deal?

15. The Life-Cycle of a Record • Birth: the creation of appropriate, necessary, and useful records • Active status: business function or process • Semi-active or inactive status: no immediate need, but potential value • Final disposition: destruction or transfer to the Indiana State Archives

16. Value of Good Records Management 1. Accountability • State and Federal law, judicial system, state government hierarchy, and taxpayers all rely on us to manage public records properly 2. Space Management • If you’re storing boxes in your office that you don’t need there, your agency is losing money and workspace. 3. Government History • Proper archiving of public records provides long-term accountability for agencies, documentary history of state government, and valuable research information for the public.

17. It’s Illegal to destroy public records if you don’t have an approved records retention schedule or special written permission from ICPR. A public official may not mutilate, destroy, sell, loan, or otherwise dispose of any government record, except under a retention schedule or with the written consent of the commission (on public records). IC 5-15-5.1-1-14

18. Records Management: How Do I Do That?

19. Records Retention Schedules • Arranged into “Record Series” which describe a similar group of records that all have the same basic function and retention requirements. • A Record Series has: • Title • Unique “Record Series Number” • Description of record types that would fall under it • Instructions for where, in what form and how long they should be stored, and what to do with them afterwards.

20. Retention Schedule page (General)

21. The General Retention Schedule (“GR”) • Contains basic Record Series that apply to most state agencies. • Your agency’s specific retention schedule should be revised to remove any records covered by the GR.

22. Retention Schedule page (Agency)

23. Agency-Specific Retention Schedule • Contains record series unique to the agency and agency functions. • Should not contain items covered by the General Retention Schedule • Can only be used to apply to your agency (other agencies may not apply your retention schedule to their records!)

24. Creating a Retention Schedule • Records Analyst and Agency Staff Work Together • Inventory records and identify agency’s needs for retention/disposition • Agency legal staff identifies statutory requirements • Records Analyst Creates Draft • Adds new items if appropriate • Updates language for existing items if needed • Suggests deletions of obsolete, non-record, and General Retention items • Draft is Circulated For Review • By agency • By State Archivist and selected OCPR pre-readers • Oversight Committee on Public Records • Approves or suggests changes at monthly board meeting

25. ICPR’s Updating Project • Due to previous practice of updating only by agency request, many agency records retention schedules have not been updated for decades • Now, we’re going to be approaching the agencies with update suggestions in addition to agencies approaching us when necessary • ICPR’s initial goal is to review and update all agency records retention schedules that have not been updated within the last 10 years • Where possible, record series will be eliminated or combined, to make retention schedules streamlined and easy to follow • Where possible, agency retention schedules will be eliminated completely, if all records can be covered by the General Retention Schedule. • In the future, a regular review cycle will be established for all agencies.

26. State Records Center • Stores and provides retrieval services for semi-active or inactive records for state agencies. • Records must be pre-approved for Records Center storage on a retention schedule: either the agency’s specific retention schedule or the General Retention Schedule. • Ownership of the records remains with the agency. • Only the agency, persons given permission by the agency, and ICPR staff may view records stored at the Records Center. • Records Center staff will dispose of records according to the retention schedule at the end of their retention period, with the agency’s permission.

27. Box Label

28. Records Center Transmittal form

29. Records Request form

30. Records Destruction • Records Center staff will destroy both records stored there, and (upon request) records stored at your agency, as long as they are approved for destruction on a records retention schedule. • Agency will receive a Destruction Notice from the RC if records are stored there. • Agency must submit Destruction Notice to the RC if requesting courtesy destruction, or if agency staff will be destroying records themselves.

31. Records Destruction Notification ALSO used by Records Center to notify agency of records being transferred to State Archives instead of destroyed.

32. If Records may NOT be destroyed

33. The Indiana State Archives • Permanently catalogues and stores records of legal and historical value • Records must be pre-approved for State Archives transfer on a retention schedule: either the agency’s specific retention schedule or the General Retention Schedule. • Provides access to the public and other government agencies, within confidentiality requirements. • Ownership of records in the State Archives transfers to the Commission on Public Records. For details on transferring approved records to the Archives, call 317-591-5222

34. Archives Transmittal form

35. Micrographics • Microfilms approved state agency records • Processes and duplicates existing microfilm • Arranges for creation of COM (Computer Output Microfiche) from electronic records • Microfilms selected State Archives records for preservation See Record Coordinator’s Handbook Section 5.2-- Call 232-3746 for details on current Micrographics procedures!

36. Special Issue:Electronic Records

37. Electronic Records, IC 5-15-1-1 (a) Any officer, office, court, commission, board, institution, department, agent or employee of the state, county, or any political subdivision being charged with the duty or authorized or required by law to record, preserve, keep, maintain, or file any record, document, plat, paper or instrument-in-writing, may… for the purpose of recording or copying same, preserving or protecting same, reducing space required for storage or filing for same, or any similar purpose, have or cause to have any or all such records recorded, copied, or reproduced by any photostatic, photographic, micrographic, electronic, or any other process which correctly and accurately copies or reproduces, recreates or forms a medium of copying or reproducing the original record, document, plat, paper or instrument-in-writing.

38. Electronic Records Public Access • Public has the right to inspect no matter what the format (IC 5-14-3-2) • Public has the right to receive copies of electronic records (IC 5-14-3-6) • Commercial use of Electronic Records (IC 5-14-3-3e)

39. Managing Electronic Records • Promises • Require much less storage space • Faster retrieval • Online access • Problems • Unstable storage medium • Expensive, evolving technology • Reallocation of staff and resources

40. “There is considerable controversy over the physical lifetimes of media: for example, some claim that tape will last for 200 years, whereas others report that it often fails in a year or two. However, physical lifetime is rarely the limiting factor, since at any given point in time, a particular format of a given medium can be expected to become obsolete within no more than 5 years.”MediumPractical Physical Lifetime Avg. Time Until Obsoleteoptical (CD) 5-59 years 5 yearsdigital tape 2-30 years 5 yearsmagnetic disk 5-10 years 5 years Jeff Rothenberg. ”Ensuring the Lifetime of Digital Information.”

41. So How Do We Handle This? 1. Records with retention of 10 years or less may be scanned and hard copies destroyed, if scanning system is approved via ICPR Policy 2006-01. 2. Electronic records (scanned or born-electronic) with a retention of longer than 10 years, or any scheduled for transfer to the State Archives, must be backed up to Computer Output Microfilm/fiche. ICPR Micrographics Division can help with this. 3. All electronic records should be updated/converted any time you switch to a new software or system, OR you must retain a copy of the old system for the retention period of the records.

42. E-Mail Retention Guidelines • E-mail is correspondence. The same record series and retention periods apply as if you were holding a paper memo in your hand. • BUT all agencies should develop an internal policy on how employees should handle filing electronic correspondence. • See ICPR E-mail Retention Policy Guidelines for more information on developing one for your agency.

43. Call for information: • Records Management: 232-3380 • Records Center: 591-5326 • State Archives: 591-5222 • Micrographics: 233-3746 • Public Access: 233-9435 or 1-800-228-6013