Washington State Archives

Presented by:

Russell Wood – State Records Manager

Julie Woods – Local Government Records Specialist

Managing Your Records

Public Records Retention

• Basic Records Retention Requirements

• Organizing and Managing Electronic Records

• Retention Schedule Updates

Overview

Basic Records Retention

Requirements

What is a Public Record?

• For the purposes of retention and destruction, two criteria:1. Regardless of format;

2. Made or received in connection with the transaction of public business (RCW 40.14).

• For public disclosure, refer to RCW 42.56.

What needs to be kept?

• No public records shall be destroyed until

approved for destruction by the Local Records Committee.

(RCW 40.14.070)

Who is the Local Records Committee?

• Established under RCW 40.14.070

• Comprised of:1. State Auditor representative

2. Attorney General representative

3. State Archivist

Approval for Destruction

• Local Records Committee grants approval in the form of records retention schedules.

• Records retention schedules describe:– Type of records approved for destruction;– Minimum period for which they need to be

retained; and– Which records also have archival value.

What are Archival Records?

• Records determined by the State Archivist as having permanent and enduring historical and/or legal value.

• Typically only 2-5% of records have archival value.

• Listed on Records Retention Schedules.

What do Local Agencies do with Archival Records?

• Archival records must not be destroyed.

• Local Agencies must either:a) Keep the records themselves indefinitely; OR

b) Transfer the records to Washington State Archives (at no cost).

What about Non-Archival Records?

1. Retain for the minimum retention; THEN

2. Destroy.

• Records subject to current public disclosure requests or litigation (current or reasonably anticipated) must not be destroyed.

“Born Digital” Records

• Electronic records must be retained in electronic format … for the length of the designated retention period.

• Printing and retaining a hard copy is not a substitute for the electronic version.

(WAC 434-662-040)

Why Printing Doesn’t Work

• Metadata associated with “born digital” records establishes and preserves the authenticity of the record which is the evidence of the transaction it documents.

• Printing electronic records (e.g. emails) preserves the informational content but not the authenticity of the record.

Digitized Records

• Conversion to an imaging system does not automatically authorize the destruction of the source documents for which images have been created.

• Requires “Destruction After Digitization (DAD)” approval.

(WAC 434-663-600)

In Summary…

• Agencies need to:

1. Retain all public records for at least the minimum retention period as listed on the approved Records Retention Schedule.

2. Continue to retain, or transfer to Washington State Archives, all archival records.

Organizing and

Managing Electronic

Records

Which Schedule do I Use?

Local Government Agencies use both:

1) Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE);

AND

2) Sector-specific records retention schedules.

www.secstate.wa.gov/archives

Where are my records?

• Need to regularly inventory to know where your program’s records are:

• Which databases hold records?• Who has what email records?• Where else are my records? (websites, blogs, wikis, twitter, etc)

Get rid of what you don’t need• Much of what crosses our screens has little to

no retention value.

• Apply GS50-02 to:– Secondary copies;– Preliminary drafts; and– Informational / transitory material.

• Work with your Records Manager

Get rid of what you don’t need

• Tips for applying to electronic records:– Use email filters;

– Create more shared folders / spaces;

– Develop polices re primary & secondary copies.

Get rid of what you don’t need

• Destroy non-archival records at end of their minimum retention period.

• Document destruction of public records:– Work with your Agency’s Records Manager– Sample Destruction Logs available at:

www.secstate.wa.gov/archives

Transfer Archival Records

• Is your agency achieving it’s mission by using resources to preserve and provide access to records indefinitely?

• Washington State Archives exists to do this on your behalf & save you money.

• If it is archival and don’t need constant access, then consider transferring.

• Best care for records and still accessible.

Transfer Archival Records

• Tips for applying to electronic records:– Work with your Agency’s Records Officer;– Identify your archival electronic records; – Consider transferring archival records as part

of system migrations / decommissioning;– Develop a regular transfer cycle for ongoing

archival records (such as minutes, ordinances, etc).

Organize to Destroy

• Up to 98% of records are non-archival.

• These records will need to be destroyed someday.

• It is more efficient (and therefore cheaper) to organize now than putting it off.

Applying Retention to Electronic Records

• Don’t try and manage each record individually.

• Group “like” records together into folders and manage retention at the folder level.

Base folder structure on the

record types used in the

records retention

schedules.

Applying Retention to Database Records

• Retention applies to records within the database, not the database itself.

• Is the database the primary record or a finding aid to other records?

• Are updates to database records actually destroying records?

Applying Retention to Websites

• Retention is based on the content and function of the records not the format.

• Websites typically comprise many different types of records with different retention requirements.

• Some web content may be considered:– secondary copies of records held elsewhere

(in hardcopy, within databases, etc.).

– advice relating to the agency’s mission and core business.

– other records series relating to the core business of the agency.

Applying Retention to Websites (cont.)

Website Spidering

• Digital archives will … copy state and local government web sites that are determined to have archival value either annually or more frequently. (WAC 434-662-140)

• Archival snapshots.

• May not satisfy all legal and other requirements to retain records of websites.

Applying Retention to Blogs, Twitter, etc

• Five key considerations for posts and comments on social networking sites:1. Is there a transaction of public business?

2. Are these copies of other records?

3. Can the record be kept?

4. Does another record of the transaction need to be created?

5. Is this technology appropriate?

Records Retention Schedules

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/archives/RecordsManagement/

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/archives/RecordsManagement

Database

Database

Database

CORE

County Auditors

Local Government Listserv

NEW Local Government Listserv

Training, Classes, Workshops

Local Government Listserv

You Are Not Alone

• Washington State Archives is here to help.

• For advice and assistance:

recordsmanagement@secstate.wa.gov

www.secstate.wa.gov/archives

Washington State Archives: Partners in preservation and access

Thank you!