Records Management and Formats

1. Records Management and Formats Judy Walker Assistant State Archivist The Ohio Historical Society

2. Records Management and Formats • Records management overview • scheduling • disposal • Record formats • paper • microfilm • electronic • Reformatting • Historical Records

3. Records Management Overview 149.011 ORC (What is a “record?”) “Records includes any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or received by or coming under the jurisdiction of any public office of the state or its political subdivisions, which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.”

4. Records Management Overview County Records Commission 149.38 ORC • Members • President of the Board of County Commissioners as chair • County Prosecuting Attorney • County Auditor • County Recorder • County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas • Meet at least once every 6 months • Can hire an archivist • Shall appoint a secretary who may or may not be a member of the commission

5. Records Management Overview County Records Commission 149.38 ORC • Provide rules for retention and disposal of records • Review retention schedules and disposal requests submitted by the office • Provide that proper procedures are followed for scheduling and disposing of records • Revise retention schedules

6. Records Management Overview Records Disposition - ORC Requirements When records approved for disposal, send list of records to Auditor of State • State Auditor can disapprove • Notify within 60 days and records shall not be destroyed • Before disposal • inform OHS of the disposal • OHS given opportunity (60 days) to select for its custody records with enduring historical value

7. Records Management Overview Established Procedures • RC forms -- facilitate the procedures required by the ORC • RC forms are not required since the local records commission establishes its own rules for records management. But you do have to meet the requirements of the ORC RC1 Application for One Time Disposal RC2 Retention Schedule RC3 Certificate of Records Disposal

8. Records Management Overview RC2 Records Retention Schedules • Provide the foundation for any records management program • List the records an office maintains and the length of time the records should be maintained • When the retention period has expired, the records can be disposed of -- on an ongoing basis • Signatures indicate review by each involved entity • local records commission (approving body) • State Auditor (reviewing agency) • OHS (informational review for selection)

9. Records Management Overview Creating Records Retention Schedules • Format Specific • retention periods differ based on the format of the record • Ex. Deeds: Retain paper copy until microfilmed Retain digital image 10 years Retain microfilm permanently • Record Specific • retention is the same for all formats of the record • Ex. Deeds: Retain paper, digital image, and microfilm copies permanently

10. Records Management Overview Creating Records Retention Schedules General Schedules • List records common to most offices and provides retention periods for those records • minutes, cancelled checks, publications, etc. • Your local records commission can approve these for the entire county or on an office by office basis

11. Records Management Overview RC1 Application for One Time Disposal • List of records that are not on a retention schedule that your office wants to dispose of • Does not provide ongoing authority to dispose of records • Usually used for obsolete records or for a disposal when no retention schedules are in place • Signatures indicate review by each involved entity • local records commission (approving body) • State Auditor (reviewing agency) • OHS (informational review for selection)

12. Records Management Overview RC3 Certificate of Records Disposal • A list of records that have met their retention requirements (per the schedule) • A final opportunity for OHS to select historical records for its custody • 15 day waiting period while form is reviewed by OHS and Auditor of State

13. Records Management Overview Records Management Overview For assistance regarding RC forms and procedures, please contact: Pari Swift Local Government Records Archivist 614-297-2553 pswift@ohiohistory.org

14. Formats Record Formats -- Options • Paper • Microforms • microfilm • microfiche • Electronic Formats • digitized records (scanned images) • born digital records (databases, spreadsheets, LAN/Mainframe systems)

15. Formats Format Characteristics

16. Formats Format Characteristics

17. Reformatting Reasons to reformat • Save space • Provide access • Preserve information • Create back up of vital information

18. Reformatting Reformatting options Microfilm Digital Image Paper Digital Image Microfilm • Should the paper be retained?

19. Reformatting Reformatting options Migrate the digital record Born Digital Print Microfilm

20. Reformatting Choosing a Format -- paper • Paper is best used when: • physical storage space is available • preservation is a concern • paper is eye readable and quite stable • multiple access points are not required • maintaining a born digital copy is not warranted • word processing documents, database reports, spreadsheet reports, etc.

21. Reformatting Choosing a Format -- microfilm • Microfilm is best used when: • saving space is a concern • records have at least a ten year retention period • generally not cost effective to film records with short retention periods • preservation is a concern • microfilm, when properly stored and created, should last approximately 500 years • providing access is not the primary reason for reformatting

22. Reformatting Choosing a Format -- digital imaging • Digital imaging is best used when: • multiple access points are necessary • Intranet or Internet • physical storage space is limited • retention periods of less than ten years Digital Imaging Guidelines available on the LGR website www.ohiohistory.org/lgr

23. Reformatting Choosing a format -- electronic • It is generally easier and less expensive to commit to maintaining some born digital records in paper or microfilm, than to migrate them • However, many born digital records will have to be maintained in electronic formats for the duration of their retention period • some databases • large applications • web sites

24. Reformatting Choosing a format -- electronic • These systems and the records held in them need to be identified and analyzed • identify the records and the data that makes up the records • develop migration strategy and budget • assure security of the system • maintain reliable, current system documentation • assure the reliability and authenticity of the data in the system

25. Reformatting Choosing a format -- electronic • Reliability is the measure of a records authority and is a function of the records creation • is it what it says it is • Authenticity is proven reliability over time and is a function of a record preservation • is it still what it says it is Reliability and authenticity are functions of system policies, documentation, and the implementation of technology

26. Reformatting Choosing a format -- electronic Electronic records will not be valid (reliable and authentic) during their active life if they are not managed effectively

27. Reformatting Choosing a format -- electronic • Resources • State Archives staff • Trustworthy Information Systems Handbook • System documentation • Record metadata • Security measures • Audit trails • Disaster recovery plans • Electronic Records Committee

28. Reformatting Preservation formats -- Summary 1. Microfilm (preservation) 2. Paper 3. Digital imaging (access) 4. Electronic (born digital) • many born digital records must be maintained in electronic formats • data migrated to software and hardware platforms that will maintain the accessibility of the records

29. Commissioners Journals Prosecuting Attorney Opinions Abstracts of Votes Maps Naturalization Records Court Records Birth, Death and Marriage Records Planning and Zoning Records Tax Duplicates Public Welfare Records County Home Records Mortgage, Deed, and Lien records Historical Records What do we preserve? -- examples

30. Historical Records What do we preserve? -- formats • Microfilm is preferred • saves space, preservation quality • Paper is acceptable • preservation • Electronic formats • limited in our current capacity to handle electronic formats • web sites, e-publications, email in .txt files

31. Historical Records What do we preserve? -- formats Joint Electronic Records Repository Initiative (JERRI) Goal to create an archival repository for electronic records and resources for the state and its political subdivisions in Ohio

32. Historical Records JERRI • Partners • Ohio Department of Administrative Services • Ohio Historical Society • Ohio Supercomputer Center • State Library of Ohio • Current status

33. Conclusions • Technology makes the creation and dissemination of records and information fast, easy and cheap • Records management cannot be ignored in the electronic environment. In fact, it is more important now than it was 50 years ago

34. Conclusions • Selecting the format of records must be done carefully and with the retention period and possible preservation concerns in mind • Yes, you can throw away the paper! But be careful when you do! • Follow records management procedures • You could be destroying our ability to preserve the historical record

35. Food for Thought

36. Food for Thought “Almost every workplace lawsuit today,especially a sexual harassment case, has an E-mail component,” Nancy Flynn, executive director of the ePolicy Institute, which develops E-mail and Internet policies for employers. US News and World Report

37. Food for Thought “Digital records don’t just survive by accident” Margaret Hedstrom

38. Food for Thought “The more technologically advanced we get, the more fragile we become.” Abby Smith, Council of Library and Information Resources

39. Food for Thought “Any technology can go the way of eight-track and Betamax. Information doesn’t have much of a chance unless you keep a museum of tape players and PC’s around” Charlie Mayn, Special Media Preservation, National Archives and Records Administration

40. Food for Thought “For years, computer scientists said the ones and zeros of digital data would stick around forever. They were wrong.” Tests by the National Media Lab found that magnetic tapes might last only a decade. The fate of floppy disks, videotape, hard drives, and CDROMs is just as bleak.

41. Preserving the Electronic Record • Ohio Electronic Records Committee • Managing Email Guidelines • Digital Imaging Guidelines • Electronic Records Mgmt Guidelines • General Schedules for Administrative Electronic Records • Trustworthy Information Systems Handbook • Recordkeeping System Software

42. Preserving the Electronic Record • JERRI • Working with San Diego Supercomputer Center • experimenting with using XML to preserve data • Working with Minnesota State Archives • creating educational initiatives for archivists and their constituencies

43. Preserving the Electronic Record • Partnering with OCLC • preserve web based resources • Working with the Supreme Court of Ohio initiatives • Electronic Records workshops for local government entities

44. Any questions? Judy Walker Assistant State Archivist 297-2585 jwalker@ohiohistory.org