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INTRODUCTION
Our ability to control records has not kept pace with our ability to create them. We have typewriters that give us 10 legible copies, rapid copiers and duplicating machines that grind out reams of paper in a day, and data processing and word processing equipment that turns out tremendous quantities of paper. These developments have accelerated the accumulation of records and intensified the problem of disposing of records that have outlived their usefulness.
This lack of control over the creation, maintenance, retention and disposition of records manifests itself in a number of ways. Look, for example, at your own agency. Do you know how many records you have and where they are? Who uses the records and how often are they used? Do you have any idea how much it is costing to house these records? Do you know how much time your clerical staff is wasting on the maintenance of inactive records? Do you know how much money you have invested in file equipment? Does your agency have retention schedules covering all of its records? Are they being applied? If you have retention schedules, when did you last review them to see if the retention periods could be shortened? After asking yourself these questions, you will probably agree that much remains to be done.
WHAT IS RECORDS MANAGEMENT?
California's Records Management Program is designed to "…apply efficient and economical management methods to the creation, utilization, maintenance, retention, preservation and disposal of state records" (Government Code 14740). The end result of this effort is to ensure that information contained in the state's records is available when and where it is needed at the least possible cost. This handbook deals with several elements of a total records management program: the inventorying and scheduling of records that are owned by an agency; the systematic transfer from office to storage of records that are not needed for everyday operation; and the destruction of records that no longer have significant value. Properly managed, records protect personal and organizational rights, and support, defend and account for the state's business activities.
RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULES
Records retention schedules are a written policy outlining the treatment of records. They are a plan for the use of a business resource, just as a budget is a plan for the use of money. Properly prepared schedules:
Save space by removing from offices records that are not required for daily operations; by removing from storage areas records that no longer have significant value; and by maintaining a regular, controlled flow of records from offices to storage to destruction.
Save money by controlling the purchase of equipment and supplies to file unneeded records; by providing inexpensive storage facilities for less active records; and by releasing surplus filing equipment for re-use or sale.
Save time in locating records by removing inactive material from office files; by installing a system whereby the agency knows what records it has and where they are kept; and by providing an orderly method of storing inactive records under the supervision of trained records center personnel.
ESTABLISHING THE PROGRAM
To establish a successful records management program, several things must be done. First, top management must be made aware of the problem and understand the importance of finding a solution to it. To ensure success of the program, top management must believe in it and must let it be known that the program is supported.
Once management support for the program has been secured, the agency must develop the necessary organization to put it into effect. While most of the records management will be done by the operating units, there is a need for coordination by central staff of the agency.
Someone should be assigned the task of making the program move and given enough authority to see that it does. In most cases, the agency records analyst is the most logical choice for this role. The important point is that the function be recognized and that responsibility for it be assigned at a level within the organization that has easy access to management and all divisions of the agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT ANALYST
An agency Records Management Analyst (RMA) is the liaison between a state department, board, commission or agency and the California Records and Information Management (CalRIM) - including the Records Center.
The RMA shall be appointed in writing by the chief executive officer or the chief administrative officer of the agency. The CalRIM then looks to the RMA to answer questions and to certify that the agency is, in fact, in compliance with the Records Management Act and Section 1600 of the State Administrative Manual. On behalf of the agency, the analyst shall:
- Coordinate the agency records management program.
- Conduct research into records retention requirements.
- Act as a liaison between the agency and the CalRIM.
- Review and approve Records Retention Schedules and subsequent destruction of records from State Records Centers.
- Review and approve purchase or rental of filing and micrographics equipment.
- Conduct filing, micrographics and electronic image management system studies.
- Review and approve feasibility studies for micrographic and electronic image management applications.
- Be responsible for reports (including the Annual Report on Records Management to the Governor) required by the CalRIM for administration of the program.
- Disseminate announcements of records management activities.
- Coordinate arrangements for appropriate training of records management personnel.
- Attend Records Management Analysts forum meetings required by the CalRIM.
Steps in a Records Retention Program
| 1. Take An Inventory |
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Retained in Active Files |
| 2. Appraise All Records |
Transferred to State Records Center Revenue from Recycle Deposited in General Fund |
| 3. Establish Retention Periods |
| 4. Develop Retention Schedule |
| 5. Approve Retention Schedules |
Transferred to State of California Records Center |
| 6. Apply Retention Schedules | |
