Mike Strom, Wyoming State Archives Mitigating records schedules inflexibility with the capstone officials approach
Wyoming State Archives Records Management State Imaging Center
Public records law in Wyoming Official custodian responsible for the maintenance, care and keeping of public records. State Records Committee determines what records are public records. The custodian of any public records shall allow any person the right of inspection. State Records Committee approves records retention schedules.
“Capstone officials” Elected officials Agency directors Agency deputy directors
Retention schedule revisions 8000 retention schedules Agency-driven Multiple schedules for the same record type 600 retention schedules Function-based Multiple agencies use one schedule for the same record type
Retention schedules – correspondence Correspondence – Directors / ADM-GMT-03 / Retain permanently Records related to internal and external communications to or from the directors and/or management of policy issues, concerns and issues, and actions taken. Correspondence – Elected Officials / ADM-GMT-04 / Retain permanently Records related to Internal and external communications to or from the elected officials of policy issues, concerns and issues, and actions taken. Correspondence – General / ADM-GMT-05 / Destroy 3 years after create date Records related to routine correspondence of day‐to‐day office administration and not identified in other record series.
Old vs. New Pros Cons Old schedules Accommodated special situations Easy to update, if not always consistent between schedules Multiple schedules for the same records – inconsistent scheduling Records analysts not actively involved in determining retention period New schedules Agencies use the same schedule for the same record – consistency Forced review of all schedules Records analysts more involved in determining retention period Changing a schedule affects numerous agencies Difficult transition from 800 schedules to 600 – are records scheduled appropriately?
Contact information Mike Strom michael.strom@wyo.gov 307-777-7020