In AC 31.2015, we discussed the fact that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) had not yet caught up with General Records Schedule (GRS) 1.1, published September 2014 in GRS Transmittal 23. This resulted in the FAR and the GRS stating different retention periods for records. We are pleased to announce that these necessary alterations to … Continue reading Update on FAR and GRS
Release of 2014 SAO Report Summary
We are pleased to announce we have completed a review of the 2014 Senior Agency Official (SAO) Reports. The results have been issued in a Summary Report available here (.pdf). These reports cover activities in agencies during calendar year 2014. Acting Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, Laurence Brewer, said “The report provides important information on the … Continue reading Release of 2014 SAO Report Summary
Chief Records Officer Position Posted
We wanted to alert the records management community that the Chief Records Officer (CRO) position has been posted on USA Jobs. From the position description: "The CRO leads records management throughout the Federal Government, with an emphasis on electronic records, and assesses the effectiveness of Federal records management policies and programs." The position is open until Tuesday, … Continue reading Chief Records Officer Position Posted
RMSA 2014 released
We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Records Management-Self Assessment (RMSA) report is now available from our website (.pdf). Acting Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government Laurence Brewer said, "This is our sixth RMSA and we are very pleased to see real progress being made by agencies. We expect this improvement to continue, … Continue reading RMSA 2014 released
Expiration Date Bulletin Released
We have released NARA Bulletin 2016-01: Guidance on NARA Bulletin Expiration Dates. This administrative bulletin announces a change to our policy regarding the expiration date of bulletins. Every bulletin used to have an expiration date of three years. We would regularly review the bulletins to determine whether the policies were still relevant, accurate, and useful. Then, we would … Continue reading Expiration Date Bulletin Released
Open Government National Action Plan 3.0
The White House announced the release of the Third Open Government National Action Plan for the United States of America earlier this week. The release of the Plan was timed to coincide with the Open Government Partnership (OGP) global summit taking place in Mexico City. You may recall that earlier this year, a call went out for public … Continue reading Open Government National Action Plan 3.0
Annual RM Reporting Period
The annual records management reporting period will soon be open. This year’s reporting period will be from November 16, 2015 to January 29, 2016. Agencies will be receiving additional communications with full details and instructions from our office. This year, we will ask agencies to report on the following: 1. Records Management Self-Assessment (RMSA): The survey tool information for the … Continue reading Annual RM Reporting Period
New Video Resources for Federal Agency Users of ERA
We have posted two new video resources for federal agency users of NARA’s Electronic Records Archives (ERA). ERA Boot Camp Videos A two-part video of the ERA Boot Camp workshop held in January 2015 is available on NARA’s YouTube channel. Part 1 relates to Scheduling in ERA and Part 2 covers Transferring in ERA. Please … Continue reading New Video Resources for Federal Agency Users of ERA
Hurricane Joaquin Threatens East Coast
In advance of Hurricane Joaquin we remind Agency Records Officers that NARA posts records emergency information and other useful guidance in order for them to pass along this information to other agency personnel. For advice and assistance on preparing before the Hurricane and records recovery operations after the end of the storm, please refer to … Continue reading Hurricane Joaquin Threatens East Coast
What is Metadata…
…There’s No Singular Way to Write About It...or should it be They?.. Look up the term metadata in a dictionary and you are likely to find it defined as “data that provides information about data.” While technically accurate, this definition does little to help those who are unfamiliar with the term to understand how important … Continue reading What is Metadata…