1. Electronic Records Management “What should I be doing?”
Washington State Archives
Electronic Records Management
“What should I be doing?”
Presented by:
Leslie Koziara, ERMP - Records Consultant
Cowlitz County February 11, 2010
Fundamentals of Electronic RM - Washington State Archives

2. Washington State Archives - July 2009
Overview
What is a record, really?
Do I have to keep everything?
How to organize and manage electronic records

3. RCW 40.14 Preservation and Destruction of Public Records
“Public records include any paper, correspondence, completed form, bound record book, photograph, film, sound recording, map, drawing, machine-readable material, compact disc meeting current industry ISO specifications, or other document, regardless of physical form or characteristics, and including such copies thereof, that have been made by or received by any agency of the state of Washington in connection with the transaction of public business”

4. “regardless of media or format…”
Two Key Points
“regardless of media or format…”
“made or received in connection with the transaction of public business…”
RCW Definition of Public records include “any paper, correspondence, completed form, bound record book, photograph, film, sound recording, map, drawing, machine-readable material, compact disc meeting current industry ISO specifications, or other document, regardless of physical form or characteristics, and including such copies thereof, that have been made by or received by any agency of the state of Washington in connection with transaction of public business

5. WHAT IS A RECORD? QUIZ # 1
State Patrol is called to the scene of an accident. The patrol officer takes a digital photo of the car involved. Is this photo a public record?
□ Yes □ No
When test is completed by participants – review answers.

6. WHAT IS A RECORD? QUIZ # 2 □ Yes □ No
In your desk drawer, you have a copy of the contents of your personnel file. It contains duplicates of your application, training taken, awards received, etc. Is this a public record?
□ Yes □ No
When test is completed by participants – review answers.

7. WHAT IS A RECORD? QUIZ # 3
You come back to your desk following lunch and your computer indicates that you have two messages waiting for you.
A.) One message is from the assistant director requesting shared leave for an employee on extended sick leave.
B.) The other message is from your boss, giving you the agreed-upon timelines and goals for an upcoming project.
Which message is a public record?
□ A only □ B only □ Both A and B □ Neither A nor B

8. WHAT IS A RECORD? QUIZ # 4 Is this a public record? □ Yes □ No
While cleaning out the shelves in your office, you come across a 1994 copy of the Idaho Toxic Spill report.
Is this a public record?
□ Yes □ No

9. WHAT IS A RECORD? Quiz # 5
Your agency has a web blog and has invited public comment on a controversial issue.
Is this a public record?
□ Yes □ No

10. Content matters
Messages that facilitate or document actions affecting the conduct of business
Policies, significant decisions, commitments, or important meetings
Requests or provides substantive information
If content protects rights – legal, fiscal, property, other

11. Records with little or no retention value
“FYI” or information requiring no action
Social, meeting or announcement type of notices i.e. potluck notices, cookies in the break room, retirement party, carpooling
Personal messages and “chit-chat”
Spam and junk mail
Get rid of it as soon as you can!

12. Official or record copies
When does a document become an
“official” record?
The moment you begin typing?
Need approval?
Other electronic means?
Requires hard copy signature?

13. Primary copy
For retention purposes, only one copy of the record needs to be kept and retained according to the appropriate retention schedule This is the copy that an agency is to keep for the minimum required period as outlined in records retention schedules

14. Who is the record or primary copy holder?
Finders keepers
Who is the record or primary copy holder?
Is someone else keeping this message?
How many people were cc’d?
Does this record already exist in your office’s official files?
Another department or section?
Having policies and procedures in place will help determine responsibilities for retention
ERM- Washington State Archives

15. What about
public disclosure?

16. Records Management Supports Public Disclosure
Organizing and knowing what you have helps you find responsive materials
Applying disposition reduces the volume to be searched and reviewed for e-discovery
Any archival records transferred to Washington State Archives becomes our responsibility
What is a Record Series? KEY = information that’s related (same action or same subject)
This records retention schedule documents the life cycle of a records series. This means:
all books, papers, microforms, computer-readable materials, maps, photographs, film, video and sound recordings, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any agency in connection with the transaction of public business
Records Series can be:
Simple: Birth Certificates; Complex: Case Files and Personnel File
Combined media types: may contain paper, electronic, photographed, imaged.
Example: OFFENSE/INCIDENT REPORTS Investigation reports and notes; witnesses and suspects statements; results of chemical analysis and polygraph tests; crime scene information and photograph, citations.
No matter what media types they must all be disposed of as a unit!

17. Public Disclosure Who Can Help?
Tim Ford
Open Government Ombudsman
Office of the Attorney General
What is a Record Series? KEY = information that’s related (same action or same subject)
This records retention schedule documents the life cycle of a records series. This means:
all books, papers, microforms, computer-readable materials, maps, photographs, film, video and sound recordings, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any agency in connection with the transaction of public business
Records Series can be:
Simple: Birth Certificates; Complex: Case Files and Personnel File
Combined media types: may contain paper, electronic, photographed, imaged.
Example: OFFENSE/INCIDENT REPORTS Investigation reports and notes; witnesses and suspects statements; results of chemical analysis and polygraph tests; crime scene information and photograph, citations.
No matter what media types they must all be disposed of as a unit!

18. RECORDS MANAGEMENT
“The field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records”
Citation: ISO 15489: 2001 (International Standard for Records Management)
All public records are required to be maintained and disposed of by state agencies in accordance with the provisions of chapter RCW (the Preservation and Destruction of Public Records) as stated in the State Government Agencies General Retention Schedule.
A retention schedule (general records schedule/records retention schedule) is a document that identifies and describes an organization's records, usually at the series level, and provides instructions for the disposition of records throughout their life cycle.

19. “Should it stay, or should it go?”
Also known as…
“Should it stay, or should it go?”

20. Records and information are an agency’s most important assets
While ordinary and mundane to most, records are a vital necessity!
People come and go
Records provide the continuity for the ongoing operations of agency

21. Records Retention in a Nutshell...
Washington State Archives - July 2009
Records Retention in a Nutshell...
Agencies are required to:
Retain all public records for the minimum retention period as listed on the approved Records Retention Schedule – regardless of format – it’s the content and function that drives retention!
Continue to retain or transfer to Washington State Archives all archival records

22. Your Agency’s Records Management Program
What should I be doing?

23. “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night”
First recommendation
“Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night”
All About Eve (1950)

24. Records Management is a team sport!
Just a reminder….
As public employees, everyone needs to have a level of responsibility for the public records they create and use
Records Management is a team sport!

26. Have a policy & procedures
Some items to include in your policy:
Address legal requirements
Roles and responsibilities
Incorporate appropriate use
Fundamentals of records management
Make sure all media is covered, not just s!
Other electronic communications (texting, IM, cell phone, voice mail, blogs, wikis, Twitter)

27. Follow up!
A formal policy that is not adhered to is a greater liability than no policy at all
Make sure users are educated and trained in the use of the policy and procedures
Do periodic compliance checks

28. Do an inventory Know what you have and where it is: Who has records
What are the records
Where are the records
Why are those records there
How to manage

29. Washington State Archives - July 2009
Where are my records?
You need to know where your records are:
Where are the paper records?
Where are the electronic records?
Who has what records?
Are there records anywhere else?
(websites, blogs, wikis, social networks, etc)
What is a Record Series? KEY = information that’s related (same action or same subject)
This records retention schedule documents the life cycle of a records series. This means:
all books, papers, microforms, computer-readable materials, maps, photographs, film, video and sound recordings, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any agency in connection with the transaction of public business
Records Series can be:
Simple: Birth Certificates; Complex: Case Files and Personnel File
Combined media types: may contain paper, electronic, photographed, imaged.
Example: OFFENSE/INCIDENT REPORTS Investigation reports and notes; witnesses and suspects statements; results of chemical analysis and polygraph tests; crime scene information and photograph, citations.
No matter what media types they must all be disposed of as a unit!

30. Draw a map
By drawing a map you can “at a glance” know where records are kept. You can create a “data” map, drawing servers etc and labeling what data is kept where along with the tradition methods of retention and storage

31. Classify it! Classification scheme
Often called taxonomies, classification, file plan, file structure, or a records series, it’s grouping information or types or records together
Makes it easier to manage as a group for retention and disposition
Provides a consistent, systematic method for organization that everyone can use

32. For example
Permits Building Permits 2009 Building Permits Building Specific Address Grouping information together by records series makes it easier to file, search and apply retention and disposition

33. Don’t agonize, organize! Get to know your retention schedules
Schedules tell you what to do
What records need to be kept – by series
Minimum required period of time to keep them
What to do once retention has been met
Any remarks or special instructions

34. Does your office look like this?

35. How about your desktop?
Black hole

36. What technologies were in common use in the typical office in 1982?
Time Travel
What technologies were in common use in the typical office in 1982?

37. “Technology du jour”
Current trend will probably not outlive the records being created
Need to prepare for next generation of users and technologies
The technology used is not the record, the content and function is what matters

38. Why not just keep it all? Consider this:
Searching
The more you have, the more you have to review and search through
Think needle in a haystack.. less hay, easier to find the needle
Discovery costs increase when more time is spent searching for information
What does an attorney or forensic consultant charge per hour? What is your time worth?

39. Why keep it if you don’t have to?
1 GB of storage is cheap, litigation is NOT
There are increased costs for:
Administration/staff for maintenance
Migration or recopying
Disaster recovery/restoration
Energy costs

40. A brief word on metadata

41. THE IMPORTANCE OF METADATA
Descriptive information that facilitates management of, and access to, the objects being described – “data about the data”
A means of describing:
What is in the record
Circumstances of creation and use
Who, what, why, where, when
Need to maintain metadata as part of complete record to establish authenticity, facilitate retrieval, and to understand the record’s context and relevance

42. Supports authenticity
A complete electronic record contains sufficient metadata exists to prove:
It is what it is – an authentic record
Was created/sent by the person purported to have created/sent it
Was created/sent at the time purported

43. For example
Leaping Lizards! What About Those s?

44. Electronic file cabinets
Think electronic “file cabinets”
Desktops and servers are digital “file cabinets” and can be used as such
Just like traditional metal cabinets were
used for paper

45. Setting up the structure
Can be as individual “drawers” – working files set up in application
Can be work group or section “file cabinets” – files sent to shared drive or server used by group
Can be “central files” or “records center” – files sent to a central repository for longer retention

46. Create a plan Create a “file plan” or “file structure”
Link to retention schedules
Pre-determined file folders provide consistency, centralization and organization
Mirror the plan throughout – use same plan or structure for paper, , desktop, network drives and servers

47. When using email Just a note
Educate users when drafting s to provide context by using subject line when drafting messages, and be sure to change subject line if content and context changes during exchange
Easier to determine content and subject without opening, easier to manage and search

48. Just so you know…there is a difference
Archiving
Generally just “storage” rather than “records management”
Typically lacks coherent filing structure
Generally no records retention functionality included

49. “Filing” emails – within email application How it works
Individual users move s into pre-determined folders that match those on server or shared drive
Good to set up as “working files”, or for records with no retention value
Recommend “records with retention value” be retained on drives or servers

50. GS22005

51. Next level
Additional folders can be set up to further define the content – easy to locate and search, still all under DAN # GS 22005
Mirror this structure on shared drive or server for records with retention value
Be diligent with cleaning out records with no retention value in these “working files” and save primary copies to shared drive

52. Using email application folders
Remember:
Recommended use is for short-term or temporary retention
Mirror folders you set up on network server or shared drive
Match up to retention schedules
Use alternative methods for longer term retention needs

53. “Filing” records in shared drive or network server How it works
Designated shared drive or server is used as centralized “file cabinet” or repository
Users save their e-records into pre-determined folders in specific “drawers”
Users can retrieve and move at will
Generally no active retention or disposition applied, will need to have IT set up methods for retention (tags, flags, etc)

54. In addition Centralization makes good sense
In event of staff turnover, other “life happens” scenarios
Increased search capability for discovery and disclosure purposes
Can apply retention and disposition to stored records, can appoint system administrator to manage

55. Conferences & Seminars
Can look like this
Conferences & Seminars
GS22005
Create file “drawers” and create appropriate folders in a server or shared drive “electronic file cabinet”
Marry up with appropriate retention schedules and mirror pre-set folders

56. Click
Create appropriate file “drawers” and create the folders as necessary in which to “file” your information – all of these are still GS 22005

57. Email regarding meeting room contract
“Saved As”
regarding meeting room contract
By using the .msg extension, it can saves record copy
s electronically and preserve the metadata as well – also will save attachments
Using classifications and naming conventions make it easier to search and locate the information

58. Email saved using .msg extention in server along with other formats
Drag and drop

59. One place, one folder, one retention
BBy using the .msg extention, you are able to save s with all the other formats together in one folder, under one record series, under one retention and manage it as a whole instead of bits and bytes
One place, one folder, one retention
Get rid of the silos!

60. Local Gov’t CORE

61. Another example Additional file folders can be created
as necessary under each record series
Additional records series under a category
can be added

62. Local Gov’t CORE

63. More examples Additional file folders can be created
as necessary under each record series
Additional records series under a category
can be added

67. This is an essential record and should tagged accordingly
This is a PERMANENT, ESSENTIAL and POTENTIALLY ARCHIVAL series and should be tagged or marked and handled accordingly
Also a PERMANENT, ESSENTIAL and POTENTIALLY ARCHIVAL series

70. Right of Way files are ESSENTIAL and POTENTIALLY ARCHIVAL and should be tagged or marked and handled accordingly

71. Helpful hints Use existing retention schedules!
Consult with users, enlist their input
Work on keeping file names short and simple, yet make sense to users
Keep it under 255 characters & spaces, otherwise may have problems with access and retrieval

72. Content and function determines retention
Websites
Content and function determines retention
What purpose does the website perform?
Provide communication that already exists in a different format? Secondary copies?
Is there an exchange of information via the website?
Financial or information transactions?
Advice to the public on various subjects & topics?
It’s all about the record, not the technology

73. Washington State Archives - July 2009
Website Spidering
Digital archives will … copy state and local government web sites that are determined to have archival value either annually or more frequently (WAC )
Archival snapshots.
May not satisfy all legal and other requirements to retain records of websites.

74. Websites continued… Have boundaries with websites:
Keep only what you need to complete the record
Address INTRANET sites as well
Be sure to include links as necessary
Internal
External

75. It depends on the website and what records are needing capture
Capturing websites
It depends on the website and what records are needing capture
Options include:
Snapshots
confirmations/webmaster
Change logs/audit logs
Maintaining entire site
3rd party software for ECM

76. What about databases? Apply same principles Content and function
Is it a repository of information held elsewhere?
Does it contain evidence of business transactions not found in another format?
Is the database dynamic with continuous changes, updates?

77. It depends on the database and what records are needing capture
Capturing databases
It depends on the database and what records are needing capture
Options include:
Change logs/audit logs
Maintaining entire database
3rd party software for ECM

78. Blogs, Wikis, Twitter and more!
Washington State Archives - July 2009
Blogs, Wikis, Twitter and more!
Five key considerations for posts and comments on social networking sites:
Are they public records?
Are they primary or secondary copies?
How long do they need to be kept?
How will they be retained by the agency?
Is this technology appropriate?

79. Points to ponder Ask some questions:
Make a business case – do you really need to add another “technology du jour”?
Check with legal counsel
Check out terms of service (TOS) agreements
Amendments or codicils

80. TOS = Contract Indemnity issues
Determine choice of court if any legal action
Rights of company to edit/display/advertise
Issues of assignment in the event of merger/acquisition
Will use meet overarching regulations?
FOIA, ADA, RCW’s, WAC’s

81. More issues Copyright and intellectual property rights
Privacy, data gathering, data ownership
1st amendment concerns if public forum
Identity “hijacking”
Security

82. Also applies: Web 2.0 or “cloud” computing
“SaaS – Software as a Service
Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, any other social networks
Other collaborative/shared workspaces hosted over the internet

83. Who is minding the store?
Establish rules and responsibilities:
Monitoring site and any TOS changes
Monitoring security
Who can post?
Who can make changes to content?
Who needs to capture and maintain?

84. Also applies: Web 2.0 or “cloud” computing
“SaaS – Software as a Service
Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, any other social networks
Other collaborative/shared workspaces hosted over the internet

85. Take a deep breath You can do it!! No magic one-size-fits all solution
Fixing it will not happen overnight
Acceptance will take time
It can be done without investing in additional technology
You can do it!!

86. Plan of action Appoint a Records Officer/Manager
Sign up for RM listserv
Contact us for list of unique schedules and holdings (records center and archives)
Attend RM trainings
Discontinue any uniques covered by General Schedules
Update and revise existing schedules to meet current business needs and changes

87. More planning and action items
Do an inventory
Locate archival records
Locate essential records
Get rid of records that have met retention
Develop file plans based on records retention schedules
Take another deep breath, train and educate, and implement your plan!

88. Washington State Archives - July 2009
You Are Not Alone
For advice and assistance:
Subscribe to listserv for the latest in updates
What is a Record Series? KEY = information that’s related (same action or same subject)
This records retention schedule documents the life cycle of a records series. This means:
all books, papers, microforms, computer-readable materials, maps, photographs, film, video and sound recordings, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any agency in connection with the transaction of public business
Records Series can be:
Simple: Birth Certificates; Complex: Case Files and Personnel File
Combined media types: may contain paper, electronic, photographed, imaged.
Example: OFFENSE/INCIDENT REPORTS Investigation reports and notes; witnesses and suspects statements; results of chemical analysis and polygraph tests; crime scene information and photograph, citations.
No matter what media types they must all be disposed of as a unit!

89. Washington State Archives: Partners in preservation and access
Thank You!
Washington State Archives:
Partners in preservation and access