Recent articles have implied that the US District Courts are destroying records in an effort to save money on their storage costs. This is simply not true. What is happening is the result of a multi-year, nationwide effort by appraisal staff of the National Archives to develop some objective criteria by which records are identified … Continue reading Appraisal of US District Court Records
Category: General
NGA Inspection Report Released
We have just issued our most recent inspection report, "Management of Hard Copy Mapping Products in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency" (June, 2011). You can download a .pdf of the report here. This report presents the findings and recommendations of our inspection of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) that was conducted earlier this year. The inspection … Continue reading NGA Inspection Report Released
Mixed-Media Files Bulletin Issued
We are pleased to announce that NARA Bulletin 2011-04 has been issued. This Bulletin provides guidance to agencies who frequently manage files with records created or received in more than one type of medium. This Bulletin reminds agencies of the lifecycle management requirements for records in all formats. It also points to the need to … Continue reading Mixed-Media Files Bulletin Issued
Telework and Records Management
One area for Federal employees that has received a fair bit of attention recently is telework. Telework simply is a work arrangement whereby an employee can perform their duties in a different location. This could be from home or another approved work location. However, just because employees are working from home, their responsibilities to protect … Continue reading Telework and Records Management
2011 Records Management Self-Assessment: A Video
The deadline for agencies to submit their responses to the 2011 Records Management Self-Assessment is tomorrow, June 3. We've produced a short video about the self-assessment starring Chief Records Officer Paul Wester and Office of the Chief Records Officer Management and Program Analyst Angela Dorsey. A .pdf transcript of the video is also available.
Opportunity for Comment: NARA Bulletin on Mixed-Media
We are requesting comments on the draft of an upcoming NARA Bulletin on managing mixed-media files. NARA bulletins are designed to provide fundamental guidance to Federal agencies who must then determine the most appropriate ways to incorporate the guidance into their work. This draft Bulletin will provide Federal agencies with guidance about the records management … Continue reading Opportunity for Comment: NARA Bulletin on Mixed-Media
Discussion Guide on Establishing Trustworthy Digital Repositories
Our Interagency Science Working Group has just released a publication titled, Establishing Trustworthy Digital Repositories: A Discussion Guide Based on the ISO Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Standard Reference Model. This guide, developed in collaboration with a team of archivists, records managers, data managers and scientists in Federal agencies, will help Federal agency CIOs, IT … Continue reading Discussion Guide on Establishing Trustworthy Digital Repositories
Tool Spotlight: Records Control Schedule Repository
Have you ever had a question about the process for scheduling Federal records for disposition? The first step in the process is to complete an SF-115, Request for Records Disposition Authority and submit it to us for approval. After they go through the appraisal process and are approved by the Archivist of the United States, … Continue reading Tool Spotlight: Records Control Schedule Repository
ACT-IAC Releases Study on Social Media Retention Policies
This morning, an event is being held at the National Archives in Washington, DC to announce the release of an American Council for Technology (ACT) Industry Action Advisory Council (IAC) report on Best Practices Study of Social Media Retention Policies (.pdf link). The report was produced by the IAC Collaboration and Transformation Shared Interest Group. … Continue reading ACT-IAC Releases Study on Social Media Retention Policies
Transformation: What it Means For Our Customers
You have heard about it. You have seen the press release. You may even have read about it on the Archivist's own blog. But really, what does it mean to our records management customers? First of all, let's go back to what was said in our internal report that recommended the changes to our organizational … Continue reading Transformation: What it Means For Our Customers