[IARA - State Agency Records Managers] Monthly Bulletin and Chat Invitation, September 2021

Greetings, Agency Records Managers!

As promised, you're reading IARA's first monthly Records Management Bulletin for state agencies - and at the end of it, you'll find an invitation to our second Monthly Records Managers Chat!

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who attended our first RM Chat, which was mostly a test run to see how the Teams Meeting format would work out. There were 17 records managers in the chat, representing 14 different agencies, which was wonderful to see, and we even managed to discuss a few records retention questions in between the introductions and technical tweakery. One of those questions made for a great bulletin topic, so you'll see more about that below. But first...

News You Can Use

There's a new version of the General Retention Schedule for all State of Indiana Administrative Agencies online for you to use and share as needed. The updates were minor and are listed in detail on the last page of the Retention Schedule, but here's the short version. We:

1. Amended Record Series GRACC-1 (Basic Accounting Records - Expenditures) to clarify that only records submitted electronically to the Auditor's Office cam be destroyed directly after submission
   
   
2. Amended Record Series GRPER-5 (Personnel Files) to
   
   
   • add "volunteers" to the list of people for whom a personnel record should be maintained
     
     
   • add a line to the retention instructions describing what to do with volunteer and intern records
     
     
   • remove the retention instructions about maintaining a permanent list of previous employees, because we also...
     
     
3. Created a new, separate Record Series, GRPER-15 (Employment Logs) to cover that permanent list of previous employees which all agencies are required to maintain.

That's it; that's the update. All other Record Series remain the same!

 

News You Can't Use

Your friendly neighborhood State Records Analyst and your equally friendly neighborhood Electronic Records Archivist represented IARA in this year's SECC Cornhole Tournament, and were gloriously trounced out in the first round because I can't throw worth a darn.

However, we were gloriously trounced by the Indiana National Guard, which we consider a respectable loss, we had fun and raised 20$ for Hoosier Burn Camp, and we got to share our spiffy new IARA-brand cornhole boards with the rest of the contestants.

 

Records Management Topic of the Month

Here's that great question I mentioned, helpfully asked in our August Monthly Chat by the Auditor of State's representative:

How do Records Retention Schedules get updated?

This can start in one of two ways:

1. You notice something that needs to be changed /added / subtracted.
   
   What to do: Contact Amy!
   
   
   • Just send me an e-mail at arobinson@iara.in.gov, describing the changes that need to be made in as much or as little detail as you've worked out. If you're not the Records Coordinator for your agency, make sure to check with them first and work out whether they'd like to be the contact person for the project, or they're fine with you doing that.
     
     
   • Then I'll start with your currently-approved retention schedule as a base, work up a draft incorporating your requests, and send it back to you for review! It will also include any questions I have, or explanations of where and why we need to do something slightly different from what you proposed.
     
     
   OR
   
   
2. Four years pass since the last time your retention schedule was updated, and it comes up in IARA's review cycle.
   
   What to do: Nothing! We'll come to you.
   
   
   • I'll see that your retention schedule is up for review on our list, and work up a draft, once again starting with your currently-approved retention schedule as a base. I get the current schedule into draft format, then make any suggestions for update that I can see are necessary just from reviewing it myself. (These tend to be small things like updating the language to match current IARA verbiage, suggesting a clearer wording on something, or updating a retention period because we're aware of a change in state or federal code that would affect it.)
     
     
   • Then I send that draft to your Agency Records Coordinator, who can share it with any necessary staff for review.

From there, everything goes the same way: we trade drafts back and forth, have discussions or meetings if necessary, and follow the rest of this path to get your updated Records Retention Schedule fully approved and ready for use!

If you'd like to learn more about the process, IARA offers a step by step tutorial including details on how to read and understand the draft formats. If you have further questions, you're also always welcome to contact me at arobinson@iara.in.gov.

 

September Records Managers Chat

Our next Records Managers Chat will be happening a little over two weeks from now!

Date: September 30th, 2021
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. eastern time
Place: Microsoft Teams

About the Meeting

This 30-minute meetup is an informal setting in which to ask questions or talk about records management concerns; normally I'll begin by introducing any IARA colleagues attending, talk a bit about the topic of the monthly bulletin and make any announcements, then open things up for questions and discussion.

Adding the Meeting to Your MS Outlook Calendar

✉ Desktop Outlook

• Save the attached MonthlyStateRecordsManagersChat.ics file to your desktop.
• Make sure Outlook is open.
  
• Double-click the .ics file.
  
• Outlook will open it up as a traditional meeting invitation.
• Click "Accept" to add it to your calendar.

✉ Outlook on the Web

• Save the attached MonthlyStateRecordsManagersChat.ics file to your desktop.
  
• In your web version of Outlook, go to the Calendar page.
  
• Choose "Add Calendar," then in the left pane, "Upload from file."
  
• Click "Browse" and find the .ics file, then click "Open."
  
• Choose a preferred calendar from the dropdown list. (Even if you only have one.)
• Click "Import."
• Outlook will add the meeting to your calendar.

Meeting-Up in MS Teams

Are you new to using Microsoft Teams? No worries, IARA can help you navigate.

MS Teams is a collaboration app that many state agencies are now using to stay organized and have conversations with colleagues inside and outside of the agency.

But if your agency doesn't use Teams? No worries. You don't need to have the software installed on your computer to participate in a Teams call. 
 

To Join the Meeting By Phone

1. Dial 1-317-552-1674 at the designated meeting time, then enter this PIN when prompted: 
   489 794 94#
   
   
2. We'll let you into the meeting.
    

To Join the Meeting by Computer

1. Click here at the designated meeting time.
   
   
2. A new tab or window will open in your default web browser. From there:
   
   
   • Choose the option to join on the web if you don't normally use Teams, then click "Join now."
     
     
   • Join through your desktop or mobile application if you're familiar with using Teams and would prefer that to the web version. 
      

If you have other questions about how to use Teams, or about the meetup, just contact me and we'll figure things out together!

. . .

Looking forward to seeing you,

Amy A. Robinson (CIP)
State Government Records Analyst
Indiana Archives and Records Administration

o: 317-232-3285  |  f: 317-233-1713
e: arobinson@iara.in.gov |  w: www.in.gov/iara
a: 402 W. Washington St., Room W472, Indianapolis, IN 46204

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• MonthlyStateRecordsManagersChat.ics