[IARA - County/Local Records Custodians] Monthly Bulletin and Chat Invitation February 22, 2023

 Happy February, Records Custodians!

Brrrrrr, winter is progressing along and I'm excited because this month in February I'm going out of the country to Panama! Some family history, my grandfather was an engineer on the Canal from roughly the 1960s to 1980s. My mom grew up there along with her siblings and hasn't been back to visit since her 20th high school reunion almost 30 years ago. She promised to always take me and now that she is retired and I'm settled, "vamos a Panamá!"  

Last Month's Chat

On MS Teams, we had our January Records Custodians Chat. We met with 27 Records Custodians from various county/local offices.

Attending from IARA were Amy Christiansen, Amy Robinson, and Anna Lucas.

We discussed January's bulletin topics, which included the March Webinar on the County Commission of Public Records, TSLAC's new blog, "Records Management New Year's Resolutions," and documenting who is the 2023 Secretary and Chairperson for all 92 counties in Indiana. 

I've posted a link to the YouTube video of the January's chat to our RM Bulletins and Chat Archive, where you can also find all of the previous bulletins I've sent out. 

News You Can Use

I'll be on vacation for a week from February 27th-March 3rd. If you need immediate assistance, please email cty@iara.in.gov or call (317) 232-3380.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS for March 28th! There is an upcoming webinar in March focused on the County Commission of Public Records. No matter what your position, if you work with your office's records, you'll eventually deal with your County Commission of Public Records; this webinar will be for you! The webinar will be recorded and available for viewing on IARA's website in late March/early April.  WANT TO REGISTER?  Email cty@iara.in.gov or contact Amy Christiansen at achristiansen@iara.in.gov or (812) 929-3882.

News You Can Totally Use

2023 Schedule Monthly RM Chat for County/Local Agencies  Always the last Wednesday of the month at 11 a.m. eastern on Microsoft Teams January 25 February 22 March 29 April 26 May 31 June 28 July 26 August 30 September 27 October 25 November 29 December 27* *Possible cancellation or reschedule due to the holidays.

RM Topic of the Month: Severely Damaged Records Procedures

How does IARA define severely damaged records? 

They are records that are:

1. a danger to human health, life, or property
2. unsalvageable – unusable: unable to be used in any way and/or
3. unsalvageable – unconvertible: unable to be reformatted (scanned, digitized, or converted to microfilm).

Damaged records that the originating agency and the Indiana Archives and Records Administration (IARA) determine to be a danger to human health, life or property may be destroyed immediately by any proposed method that IARA approves.

The term “record” is format agnostic and can apply to paper, microfilm, microfiche, electronic media, digitized/scanned paper and microfilm, and born-digital files. If you have questions about the format of damaged records, please contact IARA.

What are the procedures for dealing with severely damaged records?

The first thing you should do is get a good overview of the damage, and the next thing you should do is contact IARA at cty@iara.in.gov.

IARA will gather information from you, the agency or office, about the records to assess the situation. These are the questions you'll be asked, so it helps to have as much of this information ready as possible before you contact IARA.:

1. Which government agency are you with?
   
   
2. What is your name and contact information?
   
   
3. What kind of damage is there to the records? (Mold, mildew, water, insect, rodent, smoke, other.)
   
   
4. What is the location of the records?
   
   
5. Is this the only copy of the records you are aware of?
   
   
6. Which Record Series are affected? (If records are unscheduled or Record Series is unknown, give a brief description of the contents.)
   
   
7. Are the records accessible?
   
   
   • Paper, film: can you touch the records, or are they so damaged or in a location so damaged, that they are not accessible?
     
   • Electronic: can you open and read the files? (Damage may be to the electronic records, the physical storage medium, or both.)
     
     
8. Are the records usable?
   
   
   • Paper, film: can you manipulate pages? Can you use the film on a microfilm reader?
     
     
   • Electronic: can you open the files easily? Do they appear to contain the correct content?
     
     
9. Can you show us image(s) or video(s) of the damage?
   
   
10. How does the agency or office propose to destroy the records?

What if we cannot supply answers to the questions above?

IARA will work with you to obtain answers if at all possible. However, if you cannot supply enough of the above information to give IARA staff a clear picture of the situation, your request to destroy cannot be considered by IARA or the County Commission of Public Records.

Once we have the required information, IARA will review the request and make its final decision. If the request is approved, your agency will fill out a PR-1 form (SF 30505).

If my request is approved, how do I fill out the PR-1 form for this request?

If the damage is a danger to health, life, or property:

1. Fill out the PR-1, and in the REQUEST TO DESTROY section, select “Scheduled records ahead of their disposition date due to severe damage ” then submit directly to IARA County/Local Records Management, bypassing the permission of the County Commission on Public Records in the interest of time, health, and safety.
   
   
2. IARA staff will fill out the Indiana Archives section on page two of the PR-1 and sign a letter on IARA letterhead giving permission to destroy ahead of the date of disposition.
   
   
3. Destroy the records.
   
   
4. Send the approved PR-1 with an explanation to your County Commission on Public Records to be added to their monthly minutes at the next meeting.

If the damage is not a danger to health, life or property:

1. Fill out the PR-1, selecting “Scheduled records ahead of their disposition date due to severe damage,” and submit directly to IARA County/Local Records Management.
   
   
2. IARA staff will fill out the Indiana Archives section on page two of the PR-1 and sign a letter on IARA letterhead giving permission to destroy ahead of the date of disposition.
   
   
3. You will then submit the PR-1 to your County Commission on Public Records along with the IARA letter.
   
   
4. Send a copy of the completed PR-1 to IARA.
   
   
5. Destroy the records.

What if the request is denied?

If the request is denied, the agency cannot destroy the records, and you must continue to maintain them according to their retention schedule.

How do I destroy severely damaged records?

• Damaged records that the agency and the Indiana Archives and Records Administration (IARA) determine to be a menace to human health, life or property may be destroyed immediately by any proposed method IARA approves.
  
  
• Damaged records that are confidential must be destroyed in a confidential manner. Just taking them to a landfill is not sufficient for disposal of these records. Shredding and incineration are ways to destroy records in a confidential manner. Film, electronic media and paper can all be shredded.  
  
  
• The safest method of destroying moldy paper records is incineration. If the records are not confidential, you may discard them in the trash. Do not shred moldy materials.
  
  
• Public records must either be destroyed in an authorized location such as government property, or by a vendor that specializes in the destruction of records. Public records cannot be destroyed in an unauthorized location, such as your home or a similar location.

How do I prevent severely damaging my agency's records?

The best protection for your records is a cool, dry, stable environment with good air circulation and limited light exposure. Common hazards to avoid to prevent damaging records when storing them include the following. Please note that these recommendations apply to all records regardless of format – paper, microfilm, e-media, digitized and born digital records.

• Light: Avoid storing records near direct sunlight, exterior windows, or fluorescent light to minimize light damage and fading.
  
  
• Water: Avoid storing records near or below a water source or pipes to prevent mold, mildew, and water damage.
  
  
• Humidity: Avoid storing records in spaces with high humidity as this can result in mold and mildew, or low humidity which can cause records to become brittle.
  
  
• Capacity: Avoid cramming records (both paper and physical media) into too small a space, as this can lead to poor ventilation, excessive strain on shelving, and damage when trying to access records. Store records off the ground and ensure floor support is sufficient to prevent a collapse. For electronic records, be sure that you have enough storage space whether it be on your network or on external storage. If you are exploring potential external vendors to store your electronic records or already have a vendor, have the vendor confirm they provide adequate storage for the volume of your electronic records.
  
  
• Infestation: Avoid storing records near a food or drink source areas like kitchens, eating areas, and food storage to minimize rodents and insects.
  
  
• Dirt and Dust: Dirt and dust are abrasive and can be especially damaging to audiovisual records or records stored on tape, in addition to attracting pests. Records should be stored in closed containers and storage areas should be routinely dusted and cleaned.
  
  
• Heat: Avoid storing records near radiators, heat sources or in high temperatures, in order to avoid heat damage over time or potential fires. When possible, store records behind fire-resistant doors or in a fire-resistant cabinet.
  
  
• Temperature: Avoid locations like basements and attics that experience extreme temperature fluctuations (in addition to moisture and air circulation problems) as it degrades records, particularly non-paper records.
  
  
• Security: Avoid storing records in a high traffic, public area to limit and better control access. Access to records should be limited to only those employees who require access (whether for work or for filling public records requests). To avoid improper destruction or loss, create an internal Standard Operating Procedures document to ensure proper security measures are followed when storing records, especially records containing confidential or sensitive information. Follow applicable policies on proper network and cyber security measures for electronic records to maintain their authenticity and integrity, as well as reduce the threat of malicious destruction or harm to records.
  

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February 2023 Records Custodians Chat

Our next Records Custodians Chat will be happening on February 22nd. 

Meeting Information 

Date: February 22, 2023
Time: 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  EST
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 Yourself to the Meeting

✉ Desktop Outlook

• Save the attached 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.
• Because this meeting is recurring, you should never have to add yourself again.

✉ Outlook on the Web

• Save the attached 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.
• Because this meeting is recurring, you should never have to add yourself again.

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 317-552-1674 at the designated meeting time, then enter this PIN when prompted: 
   614 865 189#
   
   
2. We'll let you into the meeting.
    

To Join the Meeting by Computer

1. Click your meeting link 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!

. . .

AMY CHRISTIANSEN

Records Management Liaison

Indiana Archives and Records Administration

o: 812-929-3882

e: achristiansen@iara.in.gov

w: www.in.gov/iara

a: 402 W Washington St, Room W472, Indianapolis, IN 46204

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