[IARA - State Agency Records Managers] February 2023 Monthly Bulletin and Chat Invitation

💘💕 Happy Shortest Month of the Year, Records Managers! 💕💘

What, is February known for something else? I hadn't noticed.

 

We Had A Chat!

Which means we already improved on December even if January's hadn't been a great meeting, which it was.

On MS Teams, we had our first State Records Managers Chat of 2023.

We met with 25 Records Managers from 22 agencies! (That might be our record!) Attending from IARA were Amy Robinson (State Records Analyst), Amy Christiansen (County/Local Records Liaison), Anna Lucas (Electronic Records Archivist), and Jeannine Roe (Electronic Records Archivist).

We discussed January's bulletin topics, which were:

• Upcoming changes to the State General Retention Schedule... that didn't get made because we cancelled the December Oversight Committee on Public Records meeting. And then the January one, because snow. The February OCPR meeting will take place the day before our RM Chat, so those of you in the chat will be the first to get an overview of the updates!
  
  
• Amy's cats are weird. But cute.
  
  
• Records Management New Year's Resolutions! Which we discussed, wrote up on the Teams whiteboard, and discussed some more.

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

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News You Can Use

2023 Schedule Monthly RM Chat for State Records Managers Always the last Thursday of the month at 11 a.m. eastern on Microsoft Teams. Unless unexpected circumstances occur. And really, how often does that happen?   January 26 February 23 March 30 April 27 May 25 June 29 July 27 August 31 September 28 October 26 November 30* December 28* *Possible cancellation or reschedule due to the holidays.

 

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News You Can't Use This is what Indiana would look like if certain parties finally got their way and were allowed to just give Lake County to Illinois already. I imagine it going something like this: Lake County: "Hello, New Mom. I like your time zone and your lake - I have a lake just like it! Would you like my casino tax dollars?" Illinois: "Why yes. Yes, I would. How thoughtful of you to bring those along." Indiana: "Wait, what?"

 

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RM Topic of the Month: Severely Damaged Records and What to Do With Them

 

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 event that caused the issue, the current state of the storage area, and which records are or may be damaged. The next thing you should do is contact IARA at rmd@iara.in.gov.

Our Records Management team will gather information from you 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 those 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 and the records involved, any request to destroy the damaged records cannot be considered by IARA until that lack of information has been resolved.

Once we have the required information, IARA will review your situation and questions, and help you come up with the best available plan to save the records (if there is one) or talk you through what needs to be destroyed and why.

If my request to destroy the records is approved, what next?

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

1. IARA staff will draft a PR-2, which is a request for an exception to an approved records retention schedule, as soon as possible, defining the records covered, why they need an exception, and what to do with them.
   
   
   • The PR-2 looks almost exactly like a retention schedule; it's just (usually) shorter, and is only a one-time agreement regarding a single, closed set of records.
     
     
2. The final document will be given to your agency-head or designee to sign, then signed by IARA's agency head or designee, then sent to the agency contact who reported the damage, and to the Records Coordinator.
   
   
3. Destroy the records.
   
   
4. Keep the fully-signed PR-2 where you keep your agency retention schedules and file them under the same Record Series number: GRREC-1. (Consider the PR-2 'outdated or replaced' once the retention period that the records should have followed has played out. If the records were meant to be permanent, then so is the PR-2.)
   
   
5. IARA will do the same, but we'll use RS 84-50 and keep it forever no matter what the retention length on the records was.

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

1. Everything above, but at a slightly less tension-filled pace.
   

 

What if our request to destroy the records is denied by IARA?

If the request is denied, then the agency cannot destroy the records at this time, 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 severe damage to 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 Records Managers Chat

Meeting Information

Date: 2023-02-23
Time: 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST
Place: Microsoft Teams

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.

I've included an agenda to help keep me us all on topic, so there'll be plenty of time for your questions and records management discussion once Amy (the me one, not the other Amy) remembers to click Mute!

Adding Yourself to the Meeting Invite List

✉ Desktop Outlook

• Save the attached Monthly State Records Managers Chat.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.
• Because this meeting is recurring, you should never have to add yourself again.

✉ Outlook on the Web

• Save the attached Monthly State Records Managers Chat.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.
• Because this meeting is recurring, you should never have to add yourself again.

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:
   707 553 068#
   
   
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) | (she/her)
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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• Monthly State Records Managers Chat.ics
• StateRMChat-agenda-2023-02.pdf