VITAL RECORDS: AN OVERVIEWWhy are vital records important? •Minimize the disruption of normal...

Charles Rodgers

Minnesota Historical Society, State Archives

18 February 2009

Minnesota Historical Society, State Archives1

VITAL RECORDS: AN OVERVIEW

VITAL RECORDS: KEY ISSUES

•Why are they important?•What are the threats?•Identification •Protection•Resources


Why are vital records important?

•Minimize the disruption of normal business operations

after an emergency

•Minimize the economic impact of the disruption

•Provide rapid and smooth restoration of services

•Comply with legal and regulatory requirements

•Recover or salvage vital records and assets (i.e.

equipment) rather than using time to recover unnecessary

items


What are the threats?

•Environmental disasters

•Organized and/or deliberate disruption

•Loss of utilities and services

•Equipment failure (excluding IT hardware)

•Serious information security incidents

•Other emergency situations


A short definition of vital records

Recorded information in any format (paper,

photo, microform, digital) that must be protected

in the event of an emergency or disaster, because

of severe consequences to the agency, or the State

of Minnesota as a whole, if the record is lost or

destroyed.


Identifying vital records

•Essential records

Records needed within 72 hours after an emergency. Costly and difficult,

but CAN be reconstructed or replaced from other sources.

•Useful records

Records which can be easily replaced. Time and cost of reproducing or

accessing is minimal, because the records are readily available at other

locations.

•Non-essential records

Records of little or no value, and probably should never have been retained.


Longer definition of vital records

•Vital to the function and mission of the agency.

•Essential for the continuous operation or

reconstruction of State owned buildings.

•Necessary to establish or protect the legal or

financial position of the agency.

•Necessary to protect and ensure the rights and

interests of employees and clients of the agency.


Identifying vital records. Step 1

Identify the key functions or responsibilities of your

agency.

• Operational

• Legal

• Fiscal

Tools.

• Functional/organizational charts if they exist

• Agency records retention schedules

• Emergency operations planMinnesota Historical Society, State Archives8

Identifying vital records. Step 2

•Identify critical functions

•Analyze consequences of lost records

•Determine cost and effort to reconstruct records

•Records available elsewhere?

•Media format of the records?


Other considerations to determine

if records are vital

•Uniqueness of the record

•Relationship of one record to another

•The type of information needed during and

following an emergency


Examples of vital records

• Contracts/agreements that prove ownership of property, equipment,

vehicles, etc.

• Operational records such as current accounting and tax records,

current personnel/payroll records, account histories, and shipping

records

• Current client files

• Current standard operating procedures (SOPs)

• Produced reports and summaries

• Software source codes (to include both licensed programs and

systems and custom developed applications)


More examples of vital records

•Emergency-operating records

•Emergency plans and directives

•Orders of succession

•Delegations of authority

•Emergency staffing assignments

•Emergency operations center access credentials

•Building plans and building systems operations manuals

for all agency facilities


And more examples of vital records

•Equipment inventories for all agency facilities

•File plans describing the records series and electronic

information systems

•Vital records inventories

•Copies of agency program records (whatever the media)

needed to carry out continuing critical functions

•System documentation for any electronic information

systems designated as emergency operating records


Protecting vital records

Provide a protection method that best suits the record

format. Factors to consider:

• Cost and effectiveness of protection

• Equipment necessary to enforce the protection method

• How vital the record is

• Format of the record

• Access and retrieval needs

• Type of hazard the record faces, as determined through a risk

assessment


Main protection method:

duplication/dispersal of records

Benefits:

Minimal chance the primary copy and the distributed copies will be destroyed.

It is cost efficient.

Easy to do and usually done in the normal course of

business.

Drawbacks:

The volume of the record, may become burdensome

over time.

Distributing additional copies of information on paper

is a poor records management practice.


Two ways to achieve

duplication/dispersal

•Natural/built inInformation routinely routed to other offices or

individuals. Least expensive form of protection.

•ReproductionDecide to duplicate or transfer the record onto a

different format specifically for its protection.

Microforms or magnetic media are the most common

forms of reproduction


Criteria for using magnetic

tape/electronic media to protect

vital records

•Data must be superseded or updated frequently to

preclude economical use of microfilm or paper.

•Must have continued access to equipment and software to

retrieve, read, and reproduce the information.

•Must migrate all information to new tapes during

upgrades.

•Information is most easily read in electronic format.


Disadvantages of using magnetic

tapes for vital records

•Tapes can be easily erased or data can be lost.

•Retrieval of information is impossible if you don’t have

the right hardware and software.

•Cost of maintaining necessary equipment and software.

•Cost of continue migration of data to new tapes.

•Limited media stability.


Getting started

1. Identify the person(s) responsible for identifying and protecting

vital function and vital record.

2. Start identifying vital records.

3. Risk assessment to identify potential hazards.

4. Determine a protection method.

5. Recovery methods in place.


Check list for getting started

1. Have an employee safety plan.

2. Protect your data with back-ups and off-site storage.

3. Identify and protect your vital records.

4. Protect your supply chain.

5. Have a communication plan.

6. Identify your most important business assets and resources.

7. Have an alternative work location designated.


RESOURCES

•University of Washington

•www.washington.edu/admin/business/oem/bcm/other_sources.php

•Disaster Recovery Journal

www.drj.com/

•Council of State Archivists IPER Project

www.statearchivists.org/iper/index.htm

•ARMA (Association for Records Managers and Administrators)

www.arma.org

•National Archives

www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/vital-records/

•Minnesota Historical Society.

www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservtion/floodresponse.htm


http://www.washington.edu/admin/business/oem/bcm/other_sources.php

http://www.washington.edu/admin/business/oem/bcm/other_sources.php

http://www.drj.com/

http://www.statearchivists.org/iper/index.htm

http://www.arma.org/

http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/vital-records/





VITAL RECORDS: AN OVERVIEWWhy are vital records important? •Minimize the disruption of normal...

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