Nourishing Local Government Archives and Records Centers Geof Huth SAA / NAGARA / CoSA Joint Meeting Washington, DC 13 August 2010 New York State’s Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund

History of the LGRMIF Local Government Records Law passed in 1987 LGRMIF created by Law in 1989 Hired field staff and awarded grants beginning in 1990 In 2004, funding made permanent Original focus: paper and microfilm In 2000s, e-records became focus

LGRMIF Services Advisory Services Field and Albany-based services Onsite, , and telephone consultations Some help developing guidance materials Training About 125 workshops a year on 30 topics Full-day symposia on e-records and archives Specialized training for individual local governments Web-based training Resources Retention schedules Publications Web resources Grants

Our Universe Goal: Develop good RM programs in local government Nine regional offices of the State Archives About 30 staff working with local governments Over 4500 local governments Over 1000 field visits a year About 2000 attendees at our training sessions About 4 disaster responses per year 200 to 600 grants per year for $5M to $12M High levels of customer satisfaction Constant rethinking of our services

Challenges of Promoting Archives Importance of records is poorly understood Local governments focus on their work, not records Most success with those with central records function Grant awards are happily accepted More difficult to convince governments to use own money Lack of understanding of the long-term benefits As opposed to the upfront costs Desire to control own records limits solutions

Ways towards Success Developing relationships Developing a statewide culture of records Through local government associations Archives Week events Examples of success spur on other local governments Promoting the value of internal use of records Promoting cooperative solutions Focusing efforts where most likely to succeed Larger governments Those with better support Those with a history of interest in records Passion (ours and theirs)

Examples of Success Dozens of full-scale archival programs Primarily in larger local governments Also small one like the Town of Long Lake Huge improvements in records storage everywhere Shelving, climate control, security Millions of high-quality microfilm images produced And stored appropriately Millions of high-quality digital images produced Many solid content management implementations Deposit and donation used to increase access

Challenges Now and in the Future Diminishing number of staff First generation of staff beginning to retire Inability to hire Diminishing number of grant dollars Leading to less interest in applying for grants Increasing costs associated with grant projects Because of the technology focus Because of the natural process of inflation Some signs of backsliding As governments deal with the national fiscal crisis

Ideas for the Future Program Assessment One year to rethink our program Institute shared services grants Eliminate some records activities from the grants program Plus: System for collecting longitudinal data on governments To better measure their progress in RM and archives To assess the value of our services To determine how to improve our services Enhanced field services Development of policies and procedures Development of needs assessments for e-systems

Longitudinal Data System Significantly detailed survey About 70 questions, plus subquestions Covers seven broad categories: Program Infrastructure, Retention and Disposition, Records Storage, Access and Retrieval, Historical Records, Information Technology, Disaster Planning Completed by the local government Answers confirmed by field staff Scoring Detailed rubric allows for objective scoring 3-point scoring system with decimal averaging by category Completing testing now Implementation next

Success Story: Ulster County Full-scale archives and records mgmt program Services focused internally to departments Services focused externally to the public Staff have clearly defined roles Program serves a defined local audience Creates digital access to those records most in demand Quality services establish trust and visibility Regular reporting show services and cost savings Demonstrates value & creates sense of indispensability Support of county clerks over the years Relies on a network of services from the State Archives

Geof Huth Director Government Records Services New York State Archives