Today, we have issued guidance for Federal Agencies on a simplified approach to managing email. NARA Bulletin 2013-02: Guidance on a New Approach to Managing Email Records introduces a new approach to managing the billions of email messages that are sent or received in Federal agencies. The approach is called “Capstone.”
Capstone will help agencies satisfy requirements in the Managing Government Records Directive. Specifically, it will help them manage all email records electronically by December 31, 2016 (Goal 1.2 of the Directive).
The Bulletin is a culmination of two years of research with input from Federal agencies. It is designed to preserve permanently valuable email and provide a pathway to dispose of temporary email. It allows agencies to manage email without having to use “print and file” or “click and drag” methods for each email message.
Agencies adopting the Capstone approach will be able to manage email on the account level. They will need to identify those officials whose email is likely to contain permanently valuable email and manage their accounts. Accounts that are clearly temporary will need to be managed for the length of time agencies need them for their business needs. Agencies are not required to adopt the Capstone approach. It is meant to be flexible and allows agencies the ability to tailor the approach to meet their needs. If agencies determine that a Capstone approach will improve their management of email, we encourage them to implement the approach.
We have also announced a workshop that will feature an overview of this Bulletin and an introduction to planning and tools for Capstone implementation. This workshop will be offered six times throughout September and October. We will hold three sessions at Archives I and three sessions online.
Archives I Workshop Sessions
September 12, 2013
October 1, 2013
October 22, 2013
The Archives I sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end no later than 12:00 p.m. Each session is identical in content. To reserve a place at an in-person session, email the date you wish to attend, your name, telephone number, and agency name to rm.communications@nara.gov no later than Monday, September 9, 2013. You may reserve places for several staff in the same email, but for security purposes we must have each individual’s name, telephone number, and email address.
Virtual Workshop Sessions
September 18, 2013
October 16, 2013
October 30, 2013
The virtual sessions will begin at 1:00 p.m. and end no later than 3:30 p.m. Registration for each virtual session is limited to 100 participants. Each session is identical in content. To register for a virtual workshop session, click on this lnk. You will receive a confirmation email after registration.
The first virtual workshop session will be recorded and made available 4-6 weeks after on NARA’s YouTube account for those who are unable to attend either an in-person or virtual workshop session.
Please email Shannon Olsen at shannon.olsen@nara.gov or call 301-837-3486 if you need assistance for registration or logistics.