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

Indiana Archives and Records Administration sent this bulletin at 09/28/2023 01:44 AM EDT
Indiana Archives and Records Administration logo  

Records and Information Management
402 W. Washington St. Rm W472
Indianapolis, IN 46204
e-mail: rmd@iara.in.gov
phone: 317-232-3285
web: http://www.in.gov/iara

 

🎃 T minus 26 Days To Great Pumpkin. This Is Not a Drill. 🎃*

 

{long pause}

Look, it may only be September (a September that's almost over), but if black and purple garland takes up the entire first 5 rows at Michael's, 'tis is officially the Season of the Witch.

Also, around these parts...

 Every Day Is Halloween! (Says this cartoon Amy wearing a witch hat and surrounded by cats.)

 

Last month on As The Record Turns... 

On MS Teams, we had our August State Records Managers Chat on the 31st. 

We met with 25 Records Managers from 20 agencies.  Attending from IARA were Amy Robinson (State Records Analyst), Amy Christiansen (County/Local Records Liaison),  Anna Lucas (Electronic Records Archivist), Sam Putnam (Records Center Director) and Jeannine Roe (Electronic Records Archivist). 

 Spinning record on a turntable. They're like big CDs but you read them with a needle instead of a laser.
We discussed August's bulletin topics, which were
  • New State Archives building groundbreaking ceremony and upcoming construction-related traffic changes
  • Bulbasaur is the cutest Pokemon with a plant sticking out of its back; convince me otherwise.
  • New separate change forms for Records Coordinators and Forms Coordinators

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

News You Can Use: We Actually Had An OCPR Meeting!

As previously mentioned, our agenda included two agency-specific retention schedules, and an update to the State General Retention Schedule to change "Auditor" to "Comptroller" in Record Series GRACC-1 (Basic Accounting Records - Expenditures).

As not previously mentioned, because it didn't get added until early this month, we also made an update to the retention on Record Series GRADM-1 (Minutes), removing references to specific formats. You'll still do exactly the same thing with your minutes - wait five years then send them to the Archives - but there's no mandated format for you to send, or for the Archives to maintain.

The updated General Retention Schedule is now available on IARA's website in PDF, but not yet via the Retention Schedule Search. Once that update has been completed, I'll send out a separate announcement of the new GR to the mailing list, going over the specific changes.

News You Can't Use

This month's header-graphic was (mostly) AI-generated from a description of my own appearance (plus cats and pumpkins). 

Some of its results are better than others.		  Kitten in a witch-hat wearing glasses and a wig. 

RIM Topic of the Month: October is American Archives Month!

September is not (quite) October, but there's a method behind the madness of posting this information in advance: so you can be on the lookout for Archives Month activities as they're announced by the State Archives, instead of only hearing about them after they've already happened.

What is American Archives Month?

Established by the Society of American Archivists in 2006, it's a month-long celebration of archives, archivists, and the value of records and their managers to history on both the global and the personal scale.

Archives around the country -- of all types, in both the public and private sectors --  promote awareness of archives in general and their own institutions in particular, through a variety of publications, presentations, and outreach activities.

Where Does IARA fit in?

Our own Indiana State Archives is no exception; there are plans being hatched for a number of interesting new exhibits and fun activities.  So keep an eye out for announcements in the Torch and on IARA's News & Events page, and come join the celebration! You're the ones who send over the records; it's your party too.

It's just possible that you might also be seeing one or two announcements from your friendly neighborhood RIM Team, because October 10th is specifically Electronic Records Day, and we'll have some interesting and hopefully welcome updates to share on that front over the next month.

*This is a drill. drill emoji 

(That was a pumpkin.)

 

September Records Managers Chat

Meeting Information

Date: 2023-09-28
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