Employees & Public RecordsWhat every public employee

needs to know

July 25, 2007

The Laws

Public Records Management

Public Records LawsORS 192 & 357

Secretary of StatePublic Records Administrator

State ArchivistAuthorizes Destruction

Advises and Assists

Public Records LawRetention & Disposition

“‘Public record’ includes, but is not limited to, a document, book, paper, photograph, file, sound recording or machine readable electronic record, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made, received, filed or recorded in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public business, whether or not confidential or restricted in use.” ORS 192.005 (5)

Public Records LawAccess

“’Public record’ includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct

of the public’s business, including but not limited to court records, mortgages, and deed

records, prepared, owned, used or retained by a public body regardless of physical form or

characteristics.” – ORS 192.410 (4)

Public Meetings Law

“The Oregon form of government requires an informed public aware of the deliberations and decisions of governing bodies and the information upon which such decisions were made. It is the intent of ORS 192.610 to 192.690 that decisions of governing bodies be arrived at openly.” - ORS 192.620

What the Laws Include

None of these laws distinguish between home or office

AND

They are all inclusive (i.e. “regardless of physical form or characteristics”)

Retention SchedulesKnowing what to keep and what

to throw away

Records Retention Schedules

Types of Records Retention Schedules

A records retention schedule, approved by the State Archives, is your legal authorization to destroy

public records

General Schedules are retention schedules that are written so that many individuals may use them, regardless of the agency or department that they work for. (OAR 166-150, 166-200, 166-300)

Special Schedules are written for records that are unique to a particular government agency or department and can only be used by that agency or department.

• Administrative needs of the agency

• Fiscal requirements of the agency

• Legal requirements of the agency

• Long term research value (Historical)

Appraisal Values of Records

OAR 166-200-0040(2) Budget Committee Meeting Records Records documenting the proceedings of the committee responsible for reviewing the annual budget proposals of city departments prior to city council review, as described in Oregon's Public Meetings Law (ORS 192.610 to 192.710). Records often include minutes, agendas, exhibits, staff reports, tape recordings, and related documents. Minimum retention: (a) Retain minutes, agendas, resolutions, indexes, and exhibits (not retained permanently elsewhere in city records) permanently

(b) Retain audio or visual recordings 1 year after minutes prepared and approved

(c) Retain other records and exhibits not pertinent to minutes 5 years

General Schedule Example

Using the Schedule

Retentions apply regardless of physical format, so...

Photos, maps, drawings, reports, e-mail, excel spreadsheets, correspondence, audio tapes, video tapes, DVD’s, CD’, etc.

Are ALL subject to retention, if it fits the definition of a public record

Electronic Records

Electronic Records and E-mail

Electronic Records - Any information recorded in a form that requires a machine to process

E-mail – Efficient communication tool, commonly found in the workplace. Its informal nature creates a business challenge

Goal - Like paper records, preserve ONLY for as long as it is needed to accurately document agency functions

Awareness

How do we get an agency’s attention?

ExperienceState Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF)City of Beaverton vs. NIKE Corp.

EducationVideo and Manual

Approach

Change behavior and viewpoint

Create an environment of accountability

Give agencies the necessary tools to accomplish the above

Policies and Procedures

Core Elements of a Good PolicyAppropriate Use StatementAccess to employee computers and

accounts; Privacy NoticeRetention of E-RecordsPolicy AwarenessTraining Compliance

Technology

Storage and PreservationSaving to hard drive is not a solutionSecurity back-ups & long-term storage are not the same thing

SoftwareShould assist in proper management of e-records

Technological ObsolescenceMigration Plans

Technology

Written policies & procedures, addressing use, access & retention a MUST!

Should only be used IF agency can capture & retain information sent & received using these technologies

Alternative Communication Devices Instant Messaging PDAs Chat Rooms Blogs

Retaining E-Records

Methods for Retaining E-records E-filing SystemPrint and FileHybrid

*Note for e-mail: Messages that need to be saved for a long period of time (i.e. more than 1 year) should be exported from the e-mail system and stored in a more reliable and stable system (e.g. printed or within a records management application).

Filing Systems

Create a filing system that is the same for both electronic and paper records

Keep your filing system simple, logical and easy to implement; otherwise, it will not be used effectively

Before

Barcode_temp

deaccession letters

destruction letters

destructions

EXCEL DOCS

excell forms

FORMS

labels

Mid Town Storage

Misc Letters

My Pictures

RC Guide

RC PICTURES

RC UPDATE

Records Center Construction

Security Depository

time sheets

transmittal letters

Archives locator

Assessment Jan28-98

Conversion

Evac Route 1

Evac Route 2

Garten Month Dest

locations available Old

locations available

Main Records Center

map

Mark pos. review

Master List

PERSupdate

Pos.Rev.Questionnaire

RC LOANS 1994-98

RC LOANS 1999

RC LOANS 2000

RC LOANS 2001

RC LOANS 2002

RC LOANS 2003

RC LOANS 2004

RC LOANS 2005

‘Filing System’

After

Special Projects

Deaccession Letters

Destruction Letters

Destructions

labels

Mid Town Storage

My Pictures

RC Guide

RC PICTURES

RC UPDATE

Records Center Construction

time sheets

transmittal letters

Assessment Jan28-98

Evac Route 1

Evac Route 2

locations available Old

locations available

Main Records Center

map

Mark pos. review

Master List

Pos.Rev.Questionnaire

RC LOANS 1994-98RC LOANS 1999

RC LOANS 2000

RC LOANS 2001

RC LOANS 2002

RC LOANS 2003

RC LOANS 2004RC LOANS 2005

Barcode

Administrative

Forms

Records Disposition

Inventory Control

RC LOANS

Budget

Personnel

Filing System

Deacessions

Deaccession Authorizations

Destruction Authorizations

Destruction Receipts

File Structure

Deaccessions

Destructions

Records Disposition

Destruction Request Letters

Destruction Authorizations

Garten Destruction Receipts

Deacession Request Letters

Deacession Authorizations

1 year

75 years

4 years

1 year

Permanent TL’s– 2 years after transfer to State Archives, destroy

Non-Permanent TL’s – 10 years after final disposition, destroy

ERMS Work Flow

Document Created

User Prompt 1

Does Records need to be saved?Yes

No – Record is not retained

User Prompt 2

Which file do you want to save it to?

Deaccessions

Destructions

Records Disposition

Destruction Request Letters

Destruction Authorizations

Garten Destruction Receipts

Deacession Request Letters

Deacession Authorizations

1 year

75 years

4 years

1 year

Permanent TL’s– 2 years after transfer to State Archives, destroy

Non-Permanent TL’s – 10 years after final disposition, destroy

ERMS Work Flow

Destruction Request Letters1

year

Document is placed in proper folder

System Administrator is prompted when document is ready for destruction

Document is accessible until final disposition

By placing in folder, document is assigned proper retention & disposition by ERMS

Summary

E-Records Management

The E-mail System is a mode of transmission, not a type of record

The e-mail message is the record

Implement a systematic filing system

Apply records retention to all e-records

ConclusionWritten policies & procedures that address use, access & retention are a MUST in the electronic world

Train your employees on your policies

Ensure that you use your retention schedule and that the management of your public records is systematic & routine

Continuously & systematically monitor for compliance to policies & procedures

For More Information…

Archives Division - Information Resource Management Unit

Phone: (503) 373-0701E-mail: mary.e.herkert@state.or.usWebpage: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us