Records Management 201 Beyond The Basics Records Management

Records Management 201: Beyond The Basics Records Management Team Brenda Burk Krista Oldham Michelle Voyles

Goals of RM 201: Beyond The Basics ü ü ü ü Welcome & Introductions Do you speak records? Best practices Structuring & organizing your files Naming conventions for your paper & electronic files Managing active & inactive records Managing copies Where do we go from here?

Do you speak records? Records § any recorded information, regardless of medium of characteristics, made or received by an organization that is evidence of its operations and has value requiring its retention for a specific period o Records Series • a group of related records that are used or filed together Records Inventory § an analysis to determine the type, volume, inclusive dates and regulatory requirements of a department’s records Records Schedule • legal document that contains the description of the records, the length of retention, and disposition § General Schedules- rules that apply to records commonly found in all university departments (e. g. , financial records) § Specific Schedules- a rule that applies to unique records within departments that are not covered in the general schedules

Understanding your records Records Appraisal • Departmental • Functional Taking Inventory • Points to consider • ARM-1

Understanding the Records Inventory Form

Understanding your records Digitization – factors to consider • • One location vs multiple locations Physical storage space Streamlining access Length of time needed

Structuring & organizing your records

A well designed filing system: • Must make filling less difficult, tedious, and unattractive • Must offer quick and easy filing and retrieval information • Must ensure integrity and continuity of record keeping despite changes in office personnel • Must have uniform practices • Must allow for easy identification and purging of inactive records according to RM policies • Should provide clear and simple filing categories • Should be expandable and flexible enough to meet everyone’s needs

Develop a plan Assign Responsibility Collect Information Utilize Records Retention Schedule Develop a Filing System Implement the System Train Users

Things to consider • Centralized or Decentralized? • Arrangement – Subject – Chronological – Numerical

Subject Filing • Records cover a range of topics where a topical arrangement becomes logical. – Arranged two different ways: • Dictionary order—each subject is provided its own folder • Encyclopedic order—subjects are grouped into major headings. Individual folders are filed in alphabetical order behind each heading. • Structured function order—based on organizational structure, functions, and processes.

Chronological Filing • Records that are created and monitored using a date

Numerical Filing • Records that have unique numbers assigned to them at creation or have an assigned code that has a meaning

Naming conventions for your paper & electronic records

Naming conventions for your paper & electronic records • • • A good format for date designations is YYYYMMDD or YYMMDD. This format makes sure all of your files stay in chronological order, even over the span of many years. Try not to make file names too long, since long file names do not work well with all types of software. Special characters such as ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ` ; < > ? , [ ] { } ' " and | should be avoided. When using a sequential numbering system, using leading zeros for clarity and to make sure files sort in sequential order. For example, use "001, 002, . . . 010, 011. . . 100, 101, etc. " instead of "1, 2, . . . 10, 11. . . 100, 101, etc. " Do not use spaces. Some software will not recognize file names with spaces, and file names with spaces must be enclosed in quotes when using the command line. Other options include: – Underscores, e. g. file_name. xxx – Dashes, e. g. file-name. xxx – No separation, e. g. filename. xxx – Camel case, where the first letter of each section of text is capitalized, e. g. File. Name. xxx

Life Cycle of a Record Creation and/or receipt- the beginning of a record lifecycle. Ways records can be created: • Recording of meeting • Receipt of documents • Typing of a document or email • Entering in a transaction within an enterprise system Distribution & Use: Once a record has been created or received it goes through a phase of distribution and use. During this phase the record is used frequently. Courtesy of University Archives of Ohio State University

The next phase. . Storage or inactive phase: These are records that must be held for a length of time but are not used frequently. Disposition phase: the final phase of a record

Managing active & inactive records Where to go from here: Review the retention schedules online and identify the records that you create in your office Implement guidelines for maintaining active and inactive records: • Keep your active records that are referenced frequently in office • Move inactive records to a departmental storage room or the Records Center • Setup a annual cycle to review records that have met their legal retention and then submit a request to destroy!

Managing copies ü Sort out your "Office of Record" records and focus on those records first. This means any records for which your office creates or maintains the official record copy. Those records are your top priority. For other records, you may need to keep a reference copy for a short time. ü Reference and/or convenience copies do not need to come through Records Management for permission to destroy.

Records Retention Schedules Procedures Policies Records Management Program Guidance & Training Revision & Review

Where do I go from here? Next workshops: • RM 301 Retention Schedules • RM 401 Records & Data Management • RM 501 Email & Digital Records Management Brenda Burk bburk@clemson. edu 864 -656 -5176 Krista Oldham Michelle Voyles kristao@clemson. edu mvoyles@clemson. edu 864 -656 -4751 864 -656 -0680