1 Records Management Training for Employees Part 1 October 2016 Script

Employee Training ScriptSlide 1Records Management for Maine State EmployeesHello and welcome to this introduction to Records Management. My name is Felicia Kennedy and I am the Management Analyst for the Maine State Archives. I am conducting the first part of this training and Rob Caron will do the second part, discussing scanning, the State Records Center and the process of transfer and retrieval of records.

Slide 2OverviewThis Training is for card holders or any employees who haven’t had any training before or for anyone who wants a refresher course. What we are offering in this webinar is what we like to consider our minimum standards training. These are the topics we will be covering:

Introduction What is Records Management Records Management Responsibilities

An Overview of the Records Management Process Where to Go for Help Also a Brief Overview of Email Records Management

Slide 3The Exciting World of RMWhen you mention the words Records Management this is a typical reaction – either people aren’t interested because they don’t think it pertains to them or they want to run away and hide because they don’t want to deal with it.However whether you want to face it or not, records are part of your work day and something you need to know about. In this electronic age, to deny that or to “stick your head in a drawer” so to speak is really bordering on the edge of negligence when it comes to your job duties as a State Government employee.

Although I realize Records Management isn’t an exciting topic (and I apologize for that) it is an important, often overlooked element of every employee’s job. Consider that this is something taking place on a consistent basis, yet many state employees aren’t even aware of it; agencies aren’t planning or putting procedures in place for it; yet records are being created and destroyed in all state government agencies on a daily basis. The scary thing to consider is this…are those records being properly managed?

Slide 4The Records Management Program Exists Because it’s written in Maine StatuteAccording to Title 5, Chapter 6, every state agency must establish and maintain an active, continuing records management program. So if your agency doesn’t have any type of program – just be aware that it is written in Maine statute.

The Statute is based on an ISO Standard for Records Management

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The statute and other guidelines we have developed are based on International Records Management Standards. We might base some of our decisions on state laws or other factors but our overall records management guidelines are based on International Standards.

Slide 5What Is Records ManagementRecords management is controlling records throughout their life cycle. This begins with the creation or receipt of a record and continues through maintenance, use, and disposition. Records Management is the process by which an agency captures and maintains evidence of and information about its programs, transactions, policies and procedures in the form of records.

Slide 6However…the problem is Records Management is very seldom an exact science.

Part of Records Management – including knowing what to retain and what to dispose of at the proper time - is using common sense and sound judgment.

Determining what is and isn’t a record or what to keep and how long to keep it is seldom black and white – believe me, I wish it were because my job would be made so much easier. There can be several variables or gray areas so it’s important to ask questions and find answers so records aren’t kept needlessly or worse that records are improperly disposed of.

Slide 7What Records Management Does

Provide standards, procedures and techniques for effective management of recordsThis is done through our Chapter Rules, the General Schedules and other information we have available on our website.Help establish retention schedulesAgencies write their own schedules but Records Management will review, give guidance and approve submitted schedulesProvide training for records officers and others in state governmentProvide assistance in the transfer and retrieval of records to/from the State Records Center and also the transfer of records to the Archives

Slide 8State Agency Responsibility

To appoint an Agency Records Officer1)Records Officers should have a thorough knowledge of the organization and its functions2)Per Title 5, agencies should have an established records management program/policy in place3)Agencies need to inventory their records and have updated schedules4)Depending on how big the agency is they might need to appoint Assistant Records Officer(s)5)And make sure all employees are informed and trained

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Reasons Why Good Records Management Is Vital Facilitates effective performance and delivery of services throughout an agency

o Allows quicker retrieval of documents and information from files o Improves office efficiency and productivity o Provides better documentationo Frees up office space

Protects the rights of the agency, its employees, and its customers o Protects records from inappropriate and unauthorized access o Meets statutory and regulatory requirementso Provides protection and support in litigation

Better information, at the right time, makes sense for staff, the organization and the public!

Slide 10Maine State Government Needs ALL Staff To Be a Part of Records ManagementAll State employees need to learn more about Records Management and how to do their part. Maine State Agencies produce records every day. They are the vital component to the functionality of the agency for administrative, fiscal, legal and historical purposes. Improperly destroying records is not the answer to Records Management and neither is keeping everything. There are implications for both.

Slide 11Implications of Improper Record KeepingA Presumption that records are correct and completeWasting resources/money to store unnecessary recordsAn Inability to locate information when neededDestruction of records before they have met fiscal or legal requirements or possible destruction of archival records Having to produce records for a FOAA request that otherwise should have been destroyed

Slide 12Why Should You Care About Records Management?Because whether we want to accept it or not, we are all an integral part of the agency and how it conducts its business. If YOU are mismanaging records, deleting files you shouldn’t, holding on to personal information which otherwise should have been removed, you could be in danger of harming the integrity and reputation of the agency, not to mention any legal ramifications the mismanagement of records can pose.

Slide 13Is Managing Records YOUR ResponsibilityAll state employees are responsible for creating records needed to do the business of their agency, and documenting activities for which they are responsible. As a government employee, you are responsible for managing any and all public records (including email) for which you are the custodian.

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Slide 14Records Management ProcedureAgency Management Responsibility - Creating and maintaining an efficient and continuous records management program (this includes creating an agency RM policy)Records Officer Responsibility - Implement the program and oversee records inventory processand records scheduling.Employee Responsibility - If Management and the Agency Records Officer are doing their parts…Employees will know what records they are responsible for, how long records are to be retained, and where to go for answers.

Slide 15The Records Management Process

Slide 16Have the Right People in Place Records Officers and AssistantsAgencies need to appoint Records Officers and AssistantsA Records Officer Coordinates the Department’s Records Management Program and ensures records management activities are performed in accordance with standards and procedures.

Records officers act as the liaison between your agency and ours.

Slide 17Identify Your Records – the Records InventoryAn Inventory is a high level survey of all types of information created, received and stored by your agency. It’s perhaps the most important, often overlooked step in the Records Management process. BUT…if you don’t know what you have, how can you properly schedule your records and determine what should stay and what should go.

If your agency hasn’t conducted a recent inventory, hopefully they will do that soon. You should be prepared to give detailed information on the records you create, manage and/or are retaining in both paper and electronic format.

For further information you can watch the National Archives video on this subject. Further Information: National Archives Video: Word of the Week – Inventory

Slide 18What is a Record?

"Record" means all documentary material in any format (paper, microfilm, digital records including e-mail messages and attachments), made or received and maintained by an agency in accordance with law or rule, or in the transaction of its official business.

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Things to keep in mind:• Records can have varying purposes per agency• Focus on the material’s content, not the format• Most non-retention or “non-record” materials don’t document government business or they’re

duplicate documents which can be destroyed

Slide 19What is the Life Cycle of a Record?Creation: Receiving or generating information for the first timeActive/Current: Using or referring to records regularly in the course of business Retention is in the agency until records are closedInactive/Noncurrent: Infrequent need for the records but they still need to be kept for fiscal, administrative, legal, or historical purposes per approved retention schedulesThese are closed record. Retention can be served at the Records Center or within the agency.Disposition: Is the final fate of a record – will these records be destroyed or are they archival (what some people refer to as permanent retention)

Slide 20If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may have a record:

Was it created in the course of business?Things like correspondence, agreements or studiesWas it received for action?Such as FOAA requests or other types of information requestsDoes it document agency activities and actions?Things like meeting minute or project reportsIs it mandated by statute or regulation?Records specific to the functions of the agency; outcome based recordsDoes it support financial obligations or legal claims?Items such as grants, contracts or case filesDoes it communicate agency requirementsSuch as guidance documents or policies and procedures

Slide 21Are Drafts Considered Records?Drafts or working documents are records but they might only need to be retained for a brief period of time if they do not have significant administrative, legal, fiscal or historical value.

The July 2016 Advice Bulletin has more information on drafts. That is located on the Records Management website.

Slide 22If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may have non-retention material (or “non-records”):

Is it reference material?Such as vendor catalogs, technical journals

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Is it a convenience copy?These are duplicate copies of correspondence or directives that are specifically for convenience purposes where no action is requiredIs it a stock copy?Things like agency publications or formsIs it only related to your personal affairs?Those personal messages like (“Can we do lunch?”)or personal schedules

One Note here: Be careful about Personal planners or calendars - they can be considered records if they document agency activities

For more information you can watch the National Archives video on non-records.

Slide 23Things to Consider

Not all business materials are records that require a retention time Part of a records management program is deciding what is and what is not a record Focus on material’s content, not the format Most non-retention or “non-record” materials don’t document government business or are

duplicates Records must be managed throughout their life cycle, according to their retention schedules

Slide 241. How Do You Manage Your RecordsStart by asking yourself:What types of records do you create? Examples could include client files, project documents or administrative type records such as invoices or agency general correspondence.It’s important to consider the aspects of your job and the types of records you might be creating.

Slide 252. What is the Purpose of the RecordsNext Review:Why are these records created and maintained? There are a number of valid reasons for creating files such as statute, regulation, management reporting, and program administration. There are also less valid reasons such as reference or personal convenience. Concentrate your attention on the files that directly support the agency’s mission.

Slide 263. Who is Responsible for the RecordsThen Think About:Who is responsible for these records? Generally there should only be one “custodian” for each type of record.Where are these records located?

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This is where it’s very critical to have policies and schedules in place so all employees are following the same process and know what records they are responsible for, where records are located and how long records need to be retained.

Slide 27Schedules and Record Retention

Slide 28Managing Your RecordsIn order to have the information you need (when it’s required), there has to be a way to identify, manage and retain records for the right amount of time. Records are managed by creating agency schedules.

If you think about it, we live our lives by schedules – giving us a certain structure to know where we need to be and what we need to do on a day-to-day basis.This is how we need to think of our records. That without a proper schedule, we can’t be expected to know what the purpose of specific records are, who’s responsible for them, where they’re located or for how long they need to be kept.

Slide 29What Is a Records Schedule?A records schedule describes agency records, establishes a period for their retention by the agency, and provides mandatory instructions for what to do with them when they are no longer needed for current Government business.This includes digital records or records that never leave the creating agency's custody. Schedules and retention periods apply to ALL government records.

Slide 30Why You Need SchedulesRecords retention schedules serve as an agency's legal authority to retain and purge records and, therefore, hold great importance. Schedules capture all of the types of records created and used by the agency in the course of its business and indicate how long these records are required to be retained. Both development and implementation of retention schedules are important elements in establishing a "good faith" effort for ensuring proper records management practices by all employees.

Slide 31What Schedules Can Do

• Ensure records are organized and maintained to be easily retrieved and identifiable as evidence of the agency activities (especially in the event of an audit, FOAA request or a discovery for a lawsuit).

• Protect legal rights and interests • Helps preserve those records that are valuable for historical or research purposes • Determine appropriate records media or what the record copy of the document is• Maximize use of appropriate storage• Provide security for restricted records

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• Provide control throughout the records’ life cycle including final disposition• Make sure everyone in the agency is retaining records for the same amount of time

Slide 32Types of Retention Schedules

There are 2 types of retention schedulesGeneral Record Schedules - issued by the Maine State Archives to provide retention and disposition standards for records common to most State agencies (there are currently 17 schedules) Agency Schedules – for those records unique to the officeBefore submitting a new schedule be sure that a General Schedule doesn’t exist.

Slide33Do your records fall under the State General Schedules?This is the list of the 17 General Schedules Most of the General Schedules relate to audit, fiscal, correspondence or other administrative office procedures.

• Schedule 1, Vendor Series • Schedule 2, Accounting Series • Schedule 3, Payrolls and Authorizations • Schedule 4, Income Series • Schedule 5, Budget Series • Schedule 6, Financial Order Series • Schedule 7, Attorney General Opinions Series • Schedule 8, Inventory Series • Schedule 9, Records Management Series • Schedule 10, Personnel Series • Schedule 11,MFASIS Reports • Schedule 12, Minutes of Meetings • Schedule 13, State Agency Correspondence • Schedule 14, Rules Adopted by State Agencies • Schedule 15, Quality Management Records • Schedule 16, State Employee Charitable Programs • Schedule 17, Freedom of Access Act

If you are retaining records in your office that fall under the General Schedules, an agency schedule is not necessary unless records are going to be sent to the Records Center or Archives.

Slide 34Agency Specific SchedulesAgency Record Schedules are those created because of unique programs or activities within your agency. They should be reviewed annually and updated as necessary by your Records Officer. Any schedules and amendments must be approved by the Maine State Archives.Are you familiar with your Agency Schedules? Find them on our website:Agency Schedules

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9 Records Management Training for Employees Part 1 October 2016 Script

Agency Schedules - ProcessIf you have records you know need to be scheduled, talk to your records officer to see if they can write the schedule for you or help you to write a schedule for the records. They would submit an Application for Records Retention Schedule and Inventory Form (available on our website) with proper justifications for the chosen retention times. Samples of the records would also be included.

Slide 36How to Determine Retention and Disposition Unfortunately, there is no universal guide to determine retention periods and disposition methods. Each record series needs to be examined individually in regard to usage patterns, departmental needs, historic value and legal issues. Agency retentions can vary greatly depending on a number of factors. Even records that may appear similar between two departments can have different usage patterns, and require different retention strategies. Some questions you can consider: How long will the records be needed for business purposes, as far as your agency is concerned? What are the fiscal or legal requirements? What is the frequency of use? What is the record’s value to your agency? Total Retention Period is the Time kept in your agency PLUS Time kept in the Records Center

The most important principle to remember is this: Content, not format, determines retention.

Slide 37Determining Retention Periods - 4 Part Criteria1. Administrative use: What is the value of the records in carrying out the function of the

organization? How long are they needed for immediate retrieval? Records for the Day to day business operations; materials such as general correspondence and reports – typical need for these records is under 5 years and should be retained within the agency.

2. Legal requirements: Is a certain period specified for compliance with statutes, agency rules or protection of legal rights and interests of the state? Are Federal retention periods involved? These are Records mandated by law or regulation which may be needed as evidence in things like legal cases or contracts.

3. Fiscal requirements: How much time must be allowed for the completion of fiscal activities such as audit or budget? These records Document an agency’s fiscal responsibilities; such as invoices and receipts. Typically, audit records are kept 6 or 7 years. Some Federal requirements may be 10 years.

4. Historical or research purposes: Do these records document historical events or the history and development of the organization? These are Records documenting the history of the agency such as board minutes, agency policy impacting external operations. Typically these would be unique records not found elsewhere and valuable for public research purposes for hundreds of years to come.

Slide 38Record DispositionNon-archival (non-permanent) retention is based completely on the record’s time-value to the business functions of the agency, including audit or other statutory requirements, and reasonable access by interested parties.

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These records will be destroyed once they have met their retention.Archival retention is based on the record’s value after it no longer serves the agency’s business. Again, think in terms of the records value in the future. Hundreds of years from now, will someone find these records useful? Will they provide any significant information that far in the future? Keep in mind when you are thinking of archiving confidential records – records which will be sitting in a box on a shelf collecting dust and virtually nobody will be able to look at these records if they are restricted.

Slide 39Things to Consider

Avoid the “Just in Case” or CYA syndrome.Information should be retained if there is a reasonable probability it will be needed at some future time to support legal or business objectives, and the consequences of its absence would be substantial.You need to make sure there is proper justification to support hanging on to the records.Remember, the presence or absence of information can be either helpful or harmful.A retention period is most likely to be valid if it is based on a consensus of the opinions of persons most knowledgeable about the value of the information.Make sure you’re getting the right information from the right people who can also support their opinions with fact. Even if you get an AAG opinion – they should be able to cite statutes or rules to back up their findings beyond a “because I said so” kind of reasoning.

Slide 40Where to Go for Help

Slide 41The Agency Records OfficerThe Agency Records Officer should have a thorough knowledge of agency functions, the records created to fulfill those functions and the schedules which define the retention and disposition of the records. A list of all appointed records officers can be found on our website.

Slide 42Records SchedulesIf you have a question regarding retention and disposition of records you should first check both the General Schedules and Agency Schedules to confirm how long you need to keep certain records.Remember the total retention time may include time stored at your agency and any time at the Records Center.

Slide 43Agency Records Management PolicyA policy will guarantee all employees are following the same records management procedures.Where records will be kept"centralized" area, or "decentralized" at individual work stationsWhat type of documents to be included in the record filesHow draft documents, working papers, and copies will be handledHow records will be maintained for accessSo all employees who need access can find and retrieve what they need – including confidential recordsWho will be responsible for maintaining the record copyWho is considered as the records custodian

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So find out if your agency has any kind of Records Management policy or other policies related to records.

Slide 44Maine State Archives Records ManagementOur staff can assist with training, schedule or transfer questions or other record related questions.Also, go to our website for schedule and records officer listings, training and resource information and records management forms.

Slide 45Other Sources

Are there any Federal Laws or State Statutes related to your agency and its records? Do you know your Agency Chapter Rules Does your agency have a FOAA representative Contact your agency AAG for legal questions

Slide 46Let’s talk a little bit about Email Management

Slide 47Email ManagementFirst Things FirstWhen you ask: How long do I keep my e-mail?Remember…Email is a format, not a record. Retention is determined by the content of the email. Would you look at a folder full of legal correspondence and a folder full of general information requests, group them all together and say, “how long do I keep my paper?”Records are unique and email is subject to the same retention requirements as paper correspondence.

Slide 48Why Bother to Manage EmailBecause these are potential records and just like records in paper format, they must be managed so they can be retained, accessed and destroyed at the appropriate times.

Slide 49Email SchedulesEmail is typically considered general correspondence. In the General Records Schedules, most general correspondence, and therefore most email, has a retention period of 2-5 years. State General Schedule 13 establishes retention periods for correspondence, regardless of media.

Slide 50General Schedule #13These records series are all considered to be incoming or outgoing correspondence in any media format. Retention for individual employees would depend on several factors including whether or not this is the record copy and whether or not action is required.

Series 1 – Commissioner/Executive Correspondence

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Retention of Record Copy: 2 Years Disposition: Archival

Series 2 – Program CorrespondenceRetention of Record Copy: Variable Disposition: Destroy Series 3 – General CorrespondenceRetention of Record Copy: 2 Years Disposition: Destroy

Series 4 - Transitory CorrespondenceRetention of Record Copy: Retain until no longer needed Disposition: Destroy

Series 5 – Non-Business Related CorrespondenceRetention of Record Copy: Delete/destroy immediately For complete descriptions go to the General Schedules page and look at General Schedule 13.

Slide 51When Are My Emails Records?If you are conducting government business in that email it is considered a record (communication sent or received in the transaction of local state government business.) Keep in mind, if you are sending work emails using your personal email account, your account could become subject to Public Information Requests and legal discovery.

Slide 52Things to ConsiderThink about what types of email you send and receive.Generally, not more than 10 records series will apply to any employee.Non-retention material such as spam or personnel messages should be deleted immediately.Transitory records can be deleted when no longer needed and should be kept no longer than 30 days.If emails are CC’s or Forwards where no action is taken or required they typically can be deleted immediately.If you are the official custodian of any email records YOU are the person responsible for retaining them until they have served their retention.Also keep in mind that email records are typically general correspondence and will most often have a retention of 2 years or less – unless they are related to specific programs, case files, etc.

Slide 53Email PlanningOrganizing FoldersIt is best to set up folders in your Outlook mailbox that organize email messages according to your retention schedules, with sub-folders set up by year and month. This will make it easy to delete messages that have fulfilled their retention periods, without having to look at individual messages again. For more information on mailbox and archive folders watch OIT’s 8 minute video: http://inet.state.me.us/foaa/mailbox-archive-folders.mp4

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A Word of WarningONE IMPORTANT EMAIL NOTE Be careful when seeing the word “archive” or “archiving” on the OIT site. This does not mean all email should be saved as a permanent record. Remember, email is only a format. It is the content of the email that matters and each record should be retained according to schedules.

I’m concerned that employees are being told to “archive” or save all of their email records. This is not true and should not be done. The pst folders are meant as a means to store records which need to be retained for a specified period or for those records which are actually archival. But by no means should an employee be indiscriminately sending all of their email to a pst folder.

Slide 55Some Suggested Email Folders/Filing SchemesAny electronic record should, if it's "record material" that requires retention and filing, be stored in a properly named directory/subdirectory.Again, the easiest way to manage email records is to separate them as much as possible by broad category, by topic and then by year.

Here are some suggested mailboxes…Personal email or non-record material (should be deleted immediately) Transitory email (delete when no longer needed – typically 30 days or shorter)General correspondence requests (delete after 2 years)Program related emails (retain according to schedule)Those specified in the General Schedules, or in the agency’s specific retention schedulesPermanent e-mail (save to archival folders)Things such as Commissioner’s Correspondence or material related to Policy decisions

Slide 56Email Tips

• Don’t use personal email for professional business – Your personal email account could become subject to FOAA.

• Don’t delete or save emails indiscriminately – Remember, email is a format, it is the content of the email that must be evaluated and then retained accordingly.

• Limit the use of “Reply All” or sending those “thank you” and “your welcome” emails – Consider this…if this was in paper format and not email, would you be sending all the responses, replies, forwards, CC’s, etc. that you send? Because email is so easy and convenient, we tend to overuse and misuse its intended purpose in state government.

• Fill in/use meaningful subject lines – This will help you to sort, organize, index and search for your emails.

• Plan daily times – Use 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning or at the end of the day to devote to your email management.

• Consider an Agency-wide Records time – Get upper management’s involvement to plan for a department-wide electronic records time where all employees devote one day per month/once every 2 or 3 months or whatever time is allowable to Records Management with a focus on email.

• Separate transitory email - Obviously these should be deleted as soon as possible. But when transitory email is kept for reference purposes, it should be separated and labeled

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as such into folders so it is clear these are for reference purposes only and can be purged when no longer needed.

• Cc: yourself - To help manage sent mail, cc: yourself on messages which have to be retained and manage them with your other incoming mail. Your sent mail folder will then contain only duplicates and messages of transitory value, and can be purged regularly.

Slide 57Some Tools in OutlookYou can color code email and Organize them by categories which makes it easy to send them to appropriate folders.Then, you can sort your inbox by categories, so that all emails related to one “category” go together. This then makes it very easy to file those emails away in the related folder, which is hopefully based on your retention schedule or other agency filing schemes.

Another tool in Outlook is to Set up rules to help manage your inbox and send emails to specified folders. This allows you to send emails directly to folders you have created.I do this for things like listserv messages – I have them automatically go to a folder in my “Non-records” portion of my inbox so I know these are informational and I should look at these and delete as soon as possible.

Slide 58When records are kept in more than one format, you should identify an official “record copy” to which you will apply the full retention period. When the record copy is electronic, it’s important to identify the storage location (directory and subdirectory) so that all changes are made there and that records are purged once they have met their retention.I think there’s a misnomer that if records are kept in digital format it’s okay to keep them forever. This is not true. Records need to follow their retention schedules regardless of format. Not only are agencies paying for storage space but this leads me to the next slide…

Slide 59Legal ImplicationsOrganizing and managing records (including electronic records) limits your liability for deleting records you shouldn't, and gives you authority to delete files you should delete. It will also reduce legal exposure in DISCOVERY proceedings on records that otherwise should have been destroyed.

In other words…IF IT EXISTS AND SOMEONE ASKS TO SEE IT, THE AGENCY HAS TO PRODUCE IT!While you aren’t under any legal obligation to destroy records as they become eligible, as long as they exist you’re obligated to reference them. If your agency isn’t following its retention schedules this can be viewed by outside sources as an inadequate management program or even worse, as intentional wrongdoing.

Consider the ramifications to your agency if a party is aggrieved because information which was supposed to be destroyed per agreed to records schedules was negligently retained. Would this person or business have grounds to sue the agency? At the very least, it could cause a lot of unneeded negative publicity. Something to think about if you know of someone in your office hoarding paper or electronic records.

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For more information on Freedom of Access Act go to the FOAA website.

Slide 60How Do I Find the TimeEmail is something that can no longer be ignored. Managing email has to become part of our jobs, part of our daily routine and has to be recognized as being important enough to incorporate that management into our work process. Set up folders, sort email on a daily basis or weekly basis or however it works to make it work. But it has to be deemed as essential at the agency level so that employees are taking the time to manage their email records. It must be viewed as a part of a department’s processes and procedures or it will continue to be left unattended and mismanaged. Think of it in terms of paper mail. Is mail allowed to be stacked up weeks at a time or is it processed on a daily basis, stamped received, forwarded, answered and filed accordingly? Is junk mail tossed or do people hang on to it just in case? We seem to either want to get too involved with email or not deal with it at all. State government email is used in so many ways for which it is not intended. How many of these type of email messages do you see in a day? ”Thank you” “You’re welcome” “Hey can you come see me?” “Yes I’ll be there in a minute.” “Okay.” Consider how much email we could cut out of our lives right now if we pick up a phone or get out of our chairs or just think before we send the email.

Slide 61Final NoteWhen an employee leaves a position, computer files, including e-mail, may NOT be automatically deleted! So if you leave your position those records on your computer are public records and you can’t just indiscriminately delete them all. However, you should be managing your emails so your agency isn’t left with hundreds of non-records or transitory emails to sift through.

Senior administrators can Use the OIT Checklist for Departing Employees (pdf) or go to the OIT website for more information

Slide 62Final FINAL NoteHow Does Records Management Become a Priority?My question is, how can it not be? What we have to accept is that Records and Records Management has really come to the forefront in this day of FOAA and electronic media.

As much as we’d like to ignore it and think it doesn’t pertain to us or doesn’t matter – it does! What we have to accept is that Records and Records Management has really come to the forefront in this day of FOAA and electronic media. If you just keep doing things the same old way, you are just adding to current problems.

I worked at an agency for 23 years and never heard of Records Management, didn’t have a clue what it was except that I had this friend who worked for Archives who used to complain to me about how difficult his job was because he’d go to agencies and try to train them and help them manage their records and he was dumbfounded that they had no clue about records management. Well, neither did I

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really until I took over my friend’s position 27 years later. In the agency I worked at I never saw a schedule, nobody ever told me how long I was supposed to be keeping the annual reports I was in charge of or other records I generated from my program. I just kept them for whatever suited my purposes.

We are trying to break that pattern where employees are uninformed, misinformed or indifferent to records management and also to make upper management more aware of the role they play in having a well implemented program.

I do believe NOW is a very critical time for agencies to get on board, for employees to pay attention and to recognize or have the knowledge that they are creating public records. It’s also vital for agencies to make employees aware of their records schedules and have those schedules up-to-date. Management needs to get involved and create policy for all employees to follow so everyone in the office knows how to manage records efficiently and effectively.

I will leave you with these Records Management quotes:

Slide 63

• Let records management take you... from heap to harmony... from chaos to control. (Christopher Gaines)

• Information which is not communicated is valueless Information which cannot be found is worthless The value of Information is directly related to its accessibility. (Katie Geuin)

• ABC of RM: A: Keep what must be kept B: Shred what may be shredded C: Understand the difference between A and B (Yves Légaré)

Slide 64This is a list of our Staff

Tammy MarksDirector287-5799tammy.marks@maine.govFelicia KennedyManagement Analyst (creating/amending schedules)287-5798felicia.kennedy@maine.govRobert CaronRecords Center Supervisor (record retrieval, packing boxes for shipping, filling out forms)287-5792robert.caron@maine.govWilliam Towne

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Records Center Assistant (record retrieval, packing boxes for shipping, filling out forms)287-3627william.a.towne@maine.govMaine State Archives: http://www.maine.gov/sos/arc/records/state/

Slides 65 QuestionsPlease contact me with any questions you might have regarding retention or schedules. However, you should always check with your agency Records Officer first.

We also have a lot of training and resource material available on our website.

Felicia KennedyManagement Analyst (creating/amending schedules)287-5798felicia.kennedy@maine.govMaine State Archives: http://www.maine.gov/sos/arc/records/state/