1. Russell D. James, M.A. russelldjames@yahoo.com

2. Agenda for Session 1 Discover our goals and purpose for today. Learn to speak the RIM language. Discuss the records life-cycle.

3. Why Are We Here? Issue records managers and systems technicians have historically complained to each other that they cannot understand the languages each other speaks. Complication given that each group must work together in this age of electronic information, we cannot get our work accomplished without knowing the semantics of each others language. Solution - coming together today, we learn one language and its applications in the RIM workplace.

4. Our Goals Learn the terminology of RIM Discover the reasons RIM is important Come up with strategies to better RIM practices Set some tactics to make our workflow easier and help each other Discover what still needs to be done

5. RECORD

6. What is a Record? Standard definition - a document that can serve as legal evidence of a transaction. Contemporary definition - information that has been recorded or captured on a given media. Recorded information may be found on paper, audio tape, and computer hard-drives and disks. The record is both the message and the media it is stored on. (Massachusetts Secretary of State).

7. Definitions for a Record That BetterSatisfy the Need of Electronic Records NARA Definition A unit of information made or received in the course of an activity and kept on a presumption of value or relevance in subsequent activity or as a source of information about what was done or what happened with a known context of creation: Who created it, When it was created, What activity created it, And for what purpose it was created.

8. More Considerations on theDefinition of a Record Records are created as members of an ordered set. Records have a logical structure and a conceptual structure. Records have an archival bond. Records have: Authenticity Integrity Identity Reliability

9. What is a Non-Record? Extra copies of documents kept only for convenience or reference. Stocks of publications and of processed documents (i.e., maps, posters, pamphlets) not created by the agency or used as a part of its functions or activities. Library or museum materials intended solely for reference or exhibit purposes. Personal files.

10. Intrinsic Characteristics of Records Content - Context - Structure Content -- that which conveys information Text, data, symbols Numerals Images and/or sound files

11. Intrinsic Characteristics of Records 2 Context -- background information that enhances understanding of technical and business environments to which the records relate and the origin of the records Metadata, application software, logical business models Title, address, link to function or activity, agency, program or section Who made the records and why

12. Intrinsic Characteristics of Records 3 Structure -- appearance and arrangement of the content Relationships between fields or entities Language, style, fonts, page and paragraph breaks Links and other editorial devices. Records have a logical structure and a conceptual structure. Logical the way the computer or creator (for paper records) organizes the data that comprises the document. Conceptual the organization of a record as perceived by the user.

13. Extrinsic Characteristics of Records 1 Authenticity A record is what it says it is and has not been corrupted over time. records that the creator relies on in the usual and ordinary course of business are presumed authentic digital information creates significant risks that electronic records may be altered. Determined by what we know about the way it was created and stored. Note: Authenticity relies heavily upon integrity and identity.

14. Extrinsic Characteristics of Records 2Integrity - the wholeness or soundness of a record. Has a portion of the record been lost? Has the record been altered? Are all versions of a record present? In other words, has the chain of custody been preserved?

15. Extrinsic Characteristics of Records 3 Identity provenance, authorship, date, matter or action, and archival bond. Provenance can we tell who created and used the record over time? Authorship who created the record? Dates of creation, use, alteration, digitization or microfilming, destruction. Matter or action what was the purpose for which the record was created? Archival bond what is the relationship of this record to other records?

16. Extrinsic Characteristics of Records 4 Reliability can the record be viewed in the manner in which it was created? Are there distinctions between the different versions of a record? With electronic records, can the record be viewed in the format it was created software migration. Can the record be reproduced in another format and still preserve its intrinsic and extrinsic natures?

17. RECORDS MANAGEMENT

18. What is Records Management? The field of management responsible for the systematic control of the creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of records. The proper care and maintenance of records from creation to disposition. Records management is the systematic control of all records, regardless of media format, from their initial creation to final disposition. Records management includes the development and application of standards to the creation, use, storage, retrieval, disposal and archival preservation of recorded information required to administer and to operate the University. (Ball State University website).

19. What is Records Management 2 Records management is more than retention, storage, and disposition of records; it entails all record-keeping requirements and practices that allow an organization to establish and maintain control over information flow and administrative operations. (Florida Bureau of Archives and Records Management, http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/index_RecordsManagers.cfm)

20. Federal Government Definition of RecordsManagement Title 44 U.S.C. 2901 defines records management as the managerial activities involved with respect to records creation, records maintenance and use, and records disposition in order to achieve adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of the Federal government and effective and economical management of agency operations."

21. What is Information Management? The function of managing the organizations information resources. Includes creating, capturing, registering, classifying, indexing, storing, retrieving and disposing of records and developing strategies to manage records. (metadata.curtin.edu.au/manual/classification.html) The provision of relevant information to the right person at the right time in a usable form to facilitate situational understanding and decision making. It uses procedures and information systems to collect, process, store, display, and disseminate information. (U.S. Army, FM 3-0)

22. How Do We Differentiate Records? Records are divided into different groups called SERIES. A series is kept together as a unit because they consist of the same form, relate to the same subject, result from the same activity, or have certain common characteristics. The include every record of that type that was ever created, is in existence now, or that will ever be created.

23. Records Retention Retention is a term used to signify the length of time a set of records is kept. Depending on the set of records, the retention will change. Records retention is determined by statute and administrative code in Louisiana, with approval by the Secretary of States representative at the state archives.

24. Retention Schedules Documents the life-cycle of a record series, showing: Title of series. Length of time kept after transmitted to records center. Authority signatures for storage and destruction. Two types: General lists all record series in the organization. Specific lists a particular record series and may include information about the life-cycle, though this is not mandatory.

25. Why is RIM Important? John OBrien Legal compliance Good public image Better use of resources Avoiding financial/natural disasters Good source of reliable information

26. What are the benefits of goodRIM? Smooth operation of agency/office operations. Consistent and equitable delivery of services. Effective performance of job tasks/duties. Protects rights of agency, employees, customers. Legal compliance with federal, state, and local laws. Protection during legal disputes. Frees up office space. Saves money by freeing up physical space and preventing unnecessary office equipment purchases. Improves efficiency of office staff.

27. What does RIM address? Life-cycle of records (ISO-15489) Creation/receipt and use (active) Temporary storage and infrequent use (semi-active) Disposition (inactive) Most records are disposed of through destruction. 5% of records are transferred to an archives. Legal and administrative control of records Records management affords legal protection for the institution as well as satisfying federal and state statutory requirements. (Ball State University website).

28. Functions of Records Management Make sure records capture is possible. Ensure the provenance of the record. Categorize the record. Ensure the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the record are present. Provide a means for reference for the record. Determine the retention and disposition of the record.

29. Records Creation Creation Records are created by persons or computers. Records are created to be used and then disposed of.

30. Semi-active Records A record that is no longer being used actively in the office, but that may be used any time is called a semi-active record. These records are usually stored in a records center where they are periodically retrieved. Semi-active records take up space in the office, but they are still alive. In Louisiana, the state records center is part of the state archives on Essen Lane.

31. Inactive Records Inactive records are records that are no longer useful for everyday purposes, but which still present timely evidence of legal transactions between persons and offices/agencies. Inactive records are also stored in a records series. The retention period of a record does not begin until the record becomes inactive. Paradox a record series has a retention, but the retention begins for each record in a series at a different time.

32. When the Time Has Come After a records retention has expired (or been met), the record is disposed of. Disposition can take many forms: Burning Shredding Dumping Deleting (electronic records) Placing in an archival facility. Only 5% of records created are placed in an archives.

33. SUMMARY OF SESSION 1 Records are created, used, stored, and disposed of. Records and information management is the management and preservation of records. Records management must preserve authenticity, integrity, identity, and reliability of records. Retention is an important consideration in the management of records. Knowing the life cycle of records you deal with is an important consideration in determining the best way to manage the records.

34. Break Time!!!

35. Session 2 Agenda metadata and its importance to ERM. electronic records basics. problems with managing electronic records. how electronic records differ from paper records. What must take place to properly manage electronic records. How to work together to make sure electronic records are managed correctly.

36. METADATA

37. Metadata? What is that? Metadata is in reality data about data. Used to facilitate the understanding, use and management of data. Used more with electronic records. Four types of metadata: Descriptive Administrative Technical Preservation

38. Descriptive Metadata Descriptive metadata is information that describes the item, such as title, author, publisher, subject, physical dimensions. Usually applied by a person. For ORM, includes: claim #, claimant name, adjustor name, date of closing of file, classification type (sub- series).

39. Importance of a Taxonomy A taxonomy is a defined series of terms with specific definitions that are used to standardize metadata within a particular agency or office. ORM Taxonomy contains: Classification type (legal, medical, OWC, General) OPENFILE and CLOSEDFILE CLAIMS or UNDERWRITING or ACCOUNTING

40. Why Use a Taxonomy? Everyone understands terms that everyone uses all the time. Terminology is easy to define. How do we define terminology? A taxonomy is a means of standardizing metadata within an office.

41. Administrative Metadata Definition recording of the use and maintenance of the record. Examples: When a record was created, went semi-active, sent inactive. Who scanned the record into the system. When was the record scanned into the system. Versions of the record.

42. Technical Metadata Definition metadata recorded to provide information on the technical aspects of a file. Usually used with digitized or born-digital files. Examples Pixilation Encoding scheme (ASCII, Unicode) Usually added by a computer system.

43. Preservation Metadata Definition metadata added so as to make migration and rendering possible in the future. Examples Storage media file is on. Format of file (pdf, tiff, doc)

44. Why is Metadata Important? Protects investment in records. Helps user understand the records. Enables legal discovery of records. Can prevent disasters due to data loss. How? Provides evidence of prudent data stewardship. Formats change rapidly like every other technology does these days, and it can be a drain on time trying to keep up with them.

45. ELECTRONIC RECORDS

46. What is an Electronic Record 1? An electronic record is any record that, in the ordinary course of business, is used and set aside or stored in digital form regardless of whether it was made or received in such form.

47. What is an Electronic Record 2? Electronic records are digital objects that must contain the means to identify them and their context of creation so that they can be managed beyond the active system in which they were generated. This can mean records that were born digital or that were digitized from paper records or audio/video. Natural ER created in the digital arena. Artificial ER created in paper and ending up digitized.

48. Purpose of Electronic Records To free up space in our file rooms and file cabinets. Electronic records are better protected in emergency situations. To fulfill the goal of every government office to become paperless. Paperless Office video

49. Where Do Electronic Records Come From? Mainframe and LAN based records PC based records Email Digital images of paper and audio/video records World Wide Web

50. Problems With Electronic Records Systems may not be compatible with human desires for the management of electronic records. Software goes the way of the 8-track and Beta all the time. Hardware becomes outdated easily. Electronic records need to be migrated from one system to another.

51. Problems With Electronic Records 2 Electronic records are: hardware & software dependent recorded on impermanent media Preservation is difficult temperatures, water, hardware & software changes and obsolescence In other words, electronic records do not survive by accident, like paper records.

52. Problems With Electronic Records 3 Approximately 85% of all government documents are created electronically NARA expected more than 8 million electronic files from the Clinton administration NASA satellite photography files 1970s - unreadable Viking Mission to Mars tapes decomposing We have the first email sent in 1962 between two Univac mainframe workstations, we even know what it says, but we cant read it because the hardware specifications were never recorded for posterity.

53. Problems With Electronic Records 4IT managers must be prepared to see half of all the well- known IT vendors doing business today disappear in the next three years, either through mergers or bankruptcy Gartner Inc. CEO and Chairman Michael Fleisher, October 2001

54. Problems With Electronic Records 5 Often thought of as an Information Technology problem, not a records management problem Creators of electronic records may not be aware they are creating records deletion/disposition must occur per retention schedules automatic purges of records must be scheduled

55. Juggling Porcupines Scalability ability to grow and adapt to increasing volumes and evolving types of records while serving a variety of user groups. Ensuring infrastructure independence is necessary in electronic records management.

56. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEPENDENCE The ability to manage all of the properties of the electronic record independently of the choice of storage system. Data virtualization Trust validation

57. Data Virtualization Ability to manage the properties of a shared collection independently of the choice of a storage system. Ability to access the records stored in all types of access mechanisms independently of the choice of type of storage system. In other words, a good ERM program will make sure that records can be stored and their properties managed if and when the files are moved to another system or migrated to another format.

58. Trust Validation Ability to authenticate creators and users independent of the local administrative domain and independent of the local file system. ROLE-BASED ACCESS CONTROL roles are created for various job functions such as records processor. PRINCIPLE OF LEAST PRIVILEGE a user is given no more privileges on a system than is necessary for them to perform their job duties.

59. Managing Electronic Records 1Apply the record series concept to the electronic records Identify a body of digital information, however large or small, that needs a separate retention period to provide proper instructions to govern its disposition

60. Managing Electronic Records 2 Determine retention periods Construct retention periods to include: Online retention period --length of time data should remain on primary storage devices Nearline retention period -- length of time data needs to remain onsite but offline Offline retention period -- length of time data needs to remain offline and offsite Total retention period -- total amount of time data needs to remain in computer processable form

61. Managing Electronic Records 3 The total retention period for an electronic record series depends on how long the data needs to remain in computer processable format If electronic records no longer need to be maintained in a manipulatable state usually there is no justification for retaining them in a digital format

62. Managing E-Records 4 Retention periods for electronic media should be longer than for other media - greater accessibility; therefore maintain digitally as long as user needs dictate VS Retention periods for electronic media should be shorter than for other media - computer based information is difficult to maintain

63. Managing E-Records 5 Decide if you retain a record by format or by record type: 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

64. What Do We Need to ManageElectronic Records? We need to fully document the activity of the record. We need to gather all the relevant dates. We need to identify any preservation already taken. We need to add the administrative metadata. We need to add the descriptive metadata. We need to make sure the chain of custody has not been broken. We need to establish security and control procedures to ensure the continued authenticity of the record.

65. An Important Consideration Most electronic content management systems (ECMS) do not store only records, but non-records, as well. For these systems to store something as a record, it must be declared a record. This meets a legal requirement of authenticity. This also meets a legal requirement for ORM to start shredding the paper records instead of storing them in the state records center.

66. What We Need to Do Determine together that the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of a record are reflected in our ECMS. Make sure our taxonomy is solid and useable to our systems people, our RIM people, and our users. Determine and set retention periods in our ECMS. Follow through on the destruction/disposition of the records according to the retention schedules.

67. How can RIM and Technicians Work Together? Have set periodic status meetings with no distractions to hammer out policies, guidelines, and procedures. Set communication procedures that ensure efficient and effective control over inter-office relations. Communications should be in writing or on electronic forms that can be saved. These communications are records themselves. Set retention schedule for them and store these in ECMS. Try to have all training shared between both agencies. Make sure all RIM procedures for electronic records have input from both offices before they are enacted.

68. Summary of Session 2 Electronic records are a specific type of records and thus have specific needs in the RIM environment. Electronic records have a unique set of problems associated with their management and preservation. ERM cannot take place without cooperation between RIM staff and systems technicians. The authenticity and integrity of records can be changed easier for electronic records than for paper records and thus procedures need to be in place to prevent this. Retention periods take on a whole new meaning in ERM.

69. FINIRussell D. James, M.A.russelldjames@yahoo.com