Records Friend or Foe: What do I do with ALL That Stuff ? Wyoming Conservation Districts February 25, 2016

W.S states, “Public records’ include the original and all copies for any paper, correspondence, form, book, photograph, photostat, film, microfilm, sound recording, map, drawing or other document, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which have been made or received in transacting public business by the state, a political subdivision or an agency of the state.”.

 A record is determined by  “Content” & it’s respective “Retention”.  Content is the substantive information.  Retention is the ‘life cycle or time table’ that determines how long a record will be kept. (regardless of creation format).  How do I evaluate records or determine the end of their Life Cycle ?  Make your life easier…….  Understand and Limit Liability to your organization: ◦ Retention schedules are your directive for legal compliance and governance. ◦ Follow the retention schedule. ◦ Due diligence should be your normal course of business.

 1. Non-Permanent Records  And  2. Permanent Records  3. A record is determined by the Content  & it’s respective “Retention”.  4. Approved Retention Schedules identify and determine the life cycle of records. 

 Non-Records  And  Time Limited Records

Non-Records include…….  Personal correspondence  “While you were out” messages  Publications not created by your agency (keep one copy of publications as needed for office duties/business)  Duplicates (drafts)  Duplicate messages

Non-Records - Continued  Delete/destroy digital/electronic & hard copy Non- Records as soon as possible  So…..If you delete digital/electronic records….Are they really deleted/destroyed?  * Clean up your daily or at least weekly…Don’t let it pile up.  If your electronic missives are NOT Non-Records, then plan to Archive or move the – per the content - to respective directories, subdirectories, and folders.

 Transitory - or- Short Term Retention  Normally 3 years and under. In some cases can be 80 days and up to 5 to 7 years ◦ Information which has minimal documentary or evidential value or which may become obsolete or can be superseded by a newer version ◦ “copies” of letters of transmittal that do not add any information to that contained in the transmitted material  Retain in Original Format ◦ Maintain in system for entire retention ◦ Evaluate if required and delete/destroy/recycle  Long Retention – 7 to 99 years Determining factors 1) Length of retention 2) Cost of maintenance vs access 3) Need for access  S.R.C. (Wyoming State Records Center) – W.S  It is your organization’s call…………

What are permanent records?  Determined by Statute and your organization’s policies  Your organization’s Policy processes  Vital records and vital public information  Executive papers and correspondence  Minutes  Approved Retention Schedules determine ‘Permanent’ Where do you keep these records?  In the system… used to have to send hard copy!  Options: Now include the Wyoming Electronic Repository  Is there a great deal of reference to the document – is there possible legal action pending – or an audit?  What will be the cost of retaining the document on line?

 99% of Wyoming AR-1’s (retention schedules) have been updated, revised, and approved by the state Records Committee.  Keep & refer to the handouts with most recent information about AR-1’s (retention schedules/RS Codes) pertaining to your records.

 It’s a brave new hybrid-world of records.  Heavy Legal issues have set precedence…. ◦ Newest Federal Rules of Civil Procedures ◦ Zubulake, Enron, World Com, and Arthur Anderson to name a few…..  Loss of corporate knowledge

 (electronic mail) …. “Powerful sophisticated tool that allows a user to send anything created on a computer to anyone with an address” (Microsoft Networking Essentials)  Social Media …. “Interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks” (Wikopedia)

If you have personal information, , or personal files on your organization issued computer, these are considered the organization’s property and are discoverable. Everything on your work computer and everything on your home PC or laptop relating to your job is your organization’s property …… There should be NO expectations of privacy!

 According to Gartner, the average office worker receives OVER 100 s a day.  The Wyoming state system (Google) had over 9,900,000 messages in the month of December 2015 (10.5% was spam) !  According to FileNet, OVER 95% of all business transactions are NOW conducted via Electronic media (text, instant messages, , etc!)  Nationally, electronic media messages exceed 93 billion messages a day.

We don’t just have hard copy records anymore…. We’re in a constantly changing environment of hybrid records – i.e., hard copy & electronic records / communications

 Chats, Texts, IM’s are all electronic systems used to move information and support the business process.  They are just another form of communication……….  In a large Variety of formats: Text, graphics, audio, video, etc… ‘Anything’ you can create on a computer or electronic system!

 Read and Discarded  Read and Saved  Read and Replied to  Edited and Saved  Edited and Forwarded  Printed  And in the case of these other formats…. REMEMBER - you must first capture then print & file &/or save them!

E valuate for legal, administrative, and if of historical value, transfer to State Archives. Regulatory and Public Meetings If it documents meetings – evaluate for legal, administrative, and historical value for transfer to State Archives.

 Yep…… we all do. We have….  Non-records  Non Permanent, Time-Limited records and  Permanent records !  If you have questions, give me a call.

. They are the ultimate record keepers….. Ever wonder how they maintain their records and what schedules they use ?

Pat Newbern