Laying the Foundation

Records Management

ASAP Training Session

February 26, 2015

Discussion Items• What Are Records

• Definitions

• Why the need for records • Law, historical, good business practice

• Types of Records • Temporary vs Permanent

• Records Lifecyle• Creation• Maintenance• Storage

What is a Record?Includes all recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by a Federal agency under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the United States Government or because of the informational value of data in them; and • Does not include –

– Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes; or

– Duplicate copies of records preserved only for convenience.

– Recorded Information Defined. – …….recorded information includes all traditional forms of records, regardless of physical form or characteristics, including information created, manipulated, communicated, or stored in digital or electronic form.

•  

Why do we keep RecordsRecords Management is Not a Choice• Protect legal rights• 44 U.S.C. Chapter 31, Section 3101

• Conduct agency business

• Account for funds spent

• Preservation of important records

• Hold your agency accountable

Records Formats• Paper • Electronic • Audio visual • Micoform • Scanned • Categraphic/remote-sensing imagery• Architectual, engineering • Printed • Card/odd-sized paper

Types of Records

• Temporary records records disposed of either immediately or after a specified time.

• Permanent records have sufficient value to warrant continued preservation.

• Unscheduled records are records whose final disposition has not been approved by NARA.

Examples of Temporary Records

• Personnel files- (*65 years)• Time and attendance• Accounting records• Contracts• Project files• Suspense files• Transistory Files (180 days or less)

Examples of Permanent Records

• Calendars • Reports• Electronic System (Records in system)• Meeting Minutes• Websites (Information on page)

Records Lifecycle

The records lifecyle consists of three phases:• Creation or (receipt)• Maintenance and use• Disposition or (Storage)

Creating Records

• Determine if it’s a Record• Determine the purpose of the record• Speicfics of record• Temporary or permanent• Paper of electronic format (both)

Records Disposition• Destroy records when disposition is served• Store/achive records

– Temporarty…..Federal Records Center– Permanent…National Archives and Records Administration

• Agency records (permission)• Legal Ediscovery/FOIA request

Closing Remarks

Records Management is:

Mandated and required for the federal govt

Considered good business

Transparency –hold agency accoutable

Provides a history of agency decision making

Ediscovery/FOIA/Litigation holds

QUESTIONS?

Robert Martin

NIFA Records Officer

rmartin@nifa.usda.gov

204-401-5924