Delete it or Keep it?

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Delete it or Keep it?

• Managing Your E-Records
• Brad Houston, UWM Records Officer
• CIO Briefing February 13, 2008

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What is a record?

• Records Recorded information, in any format,
  that allows an office to conduct business
• Does NOT include unofficial records
• Duplicate Copies
• Drafts and Informal Notes
• Routing Slips
• Personal Correspondence
• Does this document help me perform the duties in
  my job description?

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Electronic Records

• Value of a record determined by content, not
  format!

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Is it an Electronic Record?

• Does your file
• Support or document a transaction?
• Document the formulation or execution of a
  policy, interpretation of a policy, or change of
  policy?
• Document Actions taken in response to an inquiry?
• Relate to the substantive business of your office
  or work unit?
• Provide information regarding the historical
  development of UWM programs or people?
• If yes to any of the above, it is a record!

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Why do I need to keep e-recs?

• To document the operations of your office
• To document important programmatic decisions
• To preserve the history of your office and UWM
• To provide legal protection for your office
• To comply with Wisconsin state law!
• Wis. Stats. 16.61 Wis. Stats. 36.19

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Why do I need to DESTROY e-recs?

• To use less server space
• To reduce the clutter in your inbox and on your
  desktop
• To avoid confusion about which file is the record
  copy
• To provide legal protection for your office

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Not All Records Are Created Equal

• Desktop Application Records
• Ex Word documents databases imaged copies of
  paper documents
• E-mail Records
• Ex Transitory messages routine correspondence
  policy/procedures correspondence
• Web Information
• Ex HTML files CSS style sheets blogs

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Filenames Just DUIT!
Date
012408
Unique Identifier
InfoSecurity
Type
minutes
InfoSecurity
minutes
012408
.doc
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Tagging and Classifying

• Benefits of tagging and folksonomy
• Develop office-wide categories to describe
  documents
• Working with other departments on this allows
  categories to work on broader scale, more
  consistently
• From there.?
• Tag/Categorize documents as they are created

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Filing System Desktop/Web

• Your computer/server is your filing cabinet the
  directories are your drawers/folders
• Advantage over paper filing multi-level
  hierarchy!
• Allows greater control over organization if you
  keep up with it
• Keep record series (groups of functionally-related
  records) separate

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Desktop Filing Suggestions

• Alphabetically
• Good for student files, personnel, etc.
• Automatic arrangement, but low org. control
• Chronologically
• Good for activity tracking, financial recs, etc.
• Useful for keeping track of disposition
• Subject
• Good for administrative/reference files
• Most versatile, requires most vigilance

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Hybrid Filing

• Combining one or more of the filing archetypes to
  fulfill reference/retention needs
• Example
• Reference Correspondence
• FY2006
• November
• Smith, A
• Smith, K

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Filing System for Email

• Delete non-record email as needed
• Manually file/folder emails for
  reference/retention, OR set up filters
• Filter by sender, subject line, recipient, etc.
  partially automates filing
• Leave emails in inbox that require quick
  follow-through
• File appropriately once responded to

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The Cardinal Rule of Filing/Naming

• Be Consistent!!!!

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RRDAs to the Rescue!

• Records Retention and Disposition Authority
  (RRDA)
• Retention period (minimum)
• Final Disposition
• Record Series description
• When followed, RRDAs, or Records Schedules,
  simplify decision-making process on
  keeping/destroying records
• Required by state law!

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What if an RRDA doesnt exist?

• Non-record files and emails (drafts, notes, etc.)
  may be deleted immediately
• Official Records may not be destroyed without a
  schedule
• Many records, such as fiscal recs., scheduled
  under General Records Schedules (GRSs)
• Contact Records Officer to arrange for e-records
  survey and scheduling

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General Disposition Tips

• Set aside a little time each day/week as purge
  time
• Purge day at end of FY or in slow times?
• If using Outlook or Thunderbird for email, set up
  date search for archiving
• If records are unscheduled, organize them in
  preparation for scheduling
• Function, Date, Creator?
• When in doubt, hold on to it!

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Exception Litigation Holds!

• Applied by official in advance of lawsuit
  potential
• If a litigation hold is placed on a record series
  or email group, no records from that series may
  be destroyed
• Supersedes all existing records schedules
• Records outside scope of hold follow normal
  disposition
• Also applies to Open Records Requests
• Contact Records Management or Legal Affairs with
  questions

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Long-Term e-Recs Preservation

• UWM Archives does not currently have a dedicated
  E-Records Repository
• On short list of projects for 2008
• Preservation problems Medium
• CD-ROMs? Magnetic Disks? Server?
• Preservation problems Data Format
• Obsolescence? Proprietary Formats?
• Current Recommendation Keep in office

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Preservation Solution 1 Printing e-Records

• Avoids problems of obsolescence, mutability
• Most office managers better equipped to deal with
  paper records
• UWM Archives can accession paper records more
  easily
• Disadvantage No searchability or reusability
  onus to print on user wasteful

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Preservation Solution 2 Native Format Storage

• Storing documents as created by applications
• Easiest option for most users, particularly if
  well-organized
• Disadvantage Requires constant migration (every
  new version) no backup puts data at risk media
  may degrade
• UWM Archives is NOT equipped to handle this
  method of storage

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Preservation Solution 3 Neutral Format Storage
(Recommended)

• Files converted to non-proprietary format (TIFF,
  XML, PDF/A) and stored remotely
• PantherFile, LOCKSS Box
• Reduces/eliminates need for migration or
  emulation
• Provides backup and transfer options
• Disadvantage Conversion may be labor-intensive
  onus on user for now

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A Few Special Notes on Email

• Archive your email on your computer or server
  space, not on the email server
• Think about it do you check out books from the
  Post Office?
• Convert archived email to neutral format
• TXT files are easiest XML files preserve
  metadata better
• Keep attachments associated with email files

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Email notes, cont.

• Include original message and reply inline when
  possible
• Allows for complete documentary record
• Only need to save last message in thread
• Include all relevant information in printout
• Header information
• Body Text
• Attachments
• Signature blocks

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Personal Email?

• Two Rules of Thumb
• 1. Try not to send personal e-mails from your
  university account if you do, though, keep them
  separate from your work e-mails.
• 2. Never send work-related e-mails from
  personal e-mail accounts!

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PantherLink and E-mail management

• Upcoming email client has LOTS of the features
  described here built right in
• Visual tagging, drag-and-drop foldering,
  auto-filtering
• NOT a fully automated RM systemusers will still
  have to be vigilant!
• Training on PantherLink and e-mail management
  coming Summer 2008

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Above all else

• As much as is possible, consider electronic
  records to be normal university records, and
  treat them as such!
• Stay on top of managing your e-Records, and they
  wont spiral out of control!

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For More Information

• State of Wisconsin E-Mail Policy and Guidance
• http//enterprise.state.wi.us/home/email/Default.h
  tm
• Wisconsin DOA Electronic Records (See especially
  the training links)
• http//enterprise.state.wi.us/home/erecords/
• ADM Ch. 12 Electronic Records
• http//www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code/adm/adm012.p
  df

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UWM Records Management

• New Records Management Home Page!
• http//www.uwm.edu/Libraries/arch/recordsmgt/
• Includes links to UWM and UW-System General
  Records Schedules, webcasts, this presentation
• Or, Contact Records Management directly
• houstobn_at_uwm.edu (Brad Houston)
• 414-229-6979

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Questions?