Transition Post 3: Managing Official Email and Social Media Accounts

The next post in our Federal Government transition series highlights the need to manage official email and social media accounts of senior officials as they enter and exit Federal Service. It is very important for these officials to keep personal materials separate from official accounts or systems. This avoids the laborious and difficult task of … Continue reading Transition Post 3: Managing Official Email and Social Media Accounts

Transition Post 2: Entrance and Exit Checklists for Senior Officials

The next post in our Federal Government transition series highlights the specific resources we have created for senior officials entering and exiting Federal Service. It is critically important these officials are aware of their records management responsibilities. Our Documenting Your Public Service guide includes Model Records and Information Management Entrance and Exit Checklists. These checklists … Continue reading Transition Post 2: Entrance and Exit Checklists for Senior Officials

Transition Post 1: General Resources from NARA and GSA

Every four years, the Federal Government moves into transition mode. No matter the outcome of the Presidential election, the Government enters a time of transition for senior staff across agencies. The Partnership for Public Service (PPS) Center for Presidential Transition produced a report last year highlighting the need for effective pre-election planning and preparation for … Continue reading Transition Post 1: General Resources from NARA and GSA

New Guidance Posted

Last week, our office released two NARA Bulletins for Federal agencies. The first, NARA Bulletin 2020-01, is the guidance answering common questions and providing clarifications to the OMB/NARA Memorandum M-19-21: Transition to Electronic Records. This Bulletin is the additional guidance required by the Memorandum.  We have received many questions from agencies, including general questions, exception … Continue reading New Guidance Posted

Release of Annual Records Management Report

We are pleased to announce the publication of NARA’s Federal Agency Records Management Annual Report, 2019. This consolidated report provides a summary analysis of the state of federal records management programs across the Federal Government. The 2019 reporting period began in January 2020 and was extended into May due to COVID-19. NARA required federal agencies … Continue reading Release of Annual Records Management Report

New Director of Records Management Training

Christopher “Eddie” Kline joined our staff as the new Director of Records Management Training program in May and we asked him a few questions. New Records Management Training program director, Christopher "Eddie" Kline 1 First, What is your general background? Prior to coming onboard at NARA, I served as a training Section Chief and lead … Continue reading New Director of Records Management Training

Oversight Activity Report Issued

Our office just released the first ever Semi-Annual Report of Records Management Oversight Activities. This report highlights themes, key observations, and recommendations for action we have identified while conducting recent oversight inspections. We hope this information is helpful to records officers and records management staff in federal agencies. This report summarizes records management oversight activities … Continue reading Oversight Activity Report Issued

FAQ: Records Management During COVID-19 Pandemic

We have received several questions about managing Federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic, including questions about scheduling records and using the General Records Schedule (GRS).  We have collected these questions and responses in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document.  The FAQ has been posted to our website here.  If you have additional questions or require … Continue reading FAQ: Records Management During COVID-19 Pandemic

Current Operating Status

During the current public health national emergency, the Office of the Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government remains ‘virtually’ open. All staff are 100% teleworking and our office is available to respond to questions or concerns. If you are unsure who to contact, our website contains a list of various email addresses. While we are … Continue reading Current Operating Status