[IARA - State Agency Records Managers] January 2024 Monthly Bulletin and Chat Invitation. (Now with agenda.)

Indiana Archives and Records Administration sent this bulletin at 01/23/2024 03:53 PM EST
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

 

🗃️ New Year, New Records! (There Are Always New Records.) 🗃️

 

Welcome, Records Managers!

If, like me, you're very glad to finally be writing 2024 on every signature line that crosses your path, then Happy New Year to you! 

If, like me, you've already started planning your 2024 office Halloween theme, then Happy New Year to you and also I like the cut of your jib. Only 9 and a half months to go!

If, unlike me, you're enjoying the holiday weather that waited until after the holidays to appear, then Happy New Year to you too! It takes all kinds; I married one of yours.

If none of these apply, Happy New Year to you anyway!  A new year is a great time for new projects, new things to learn, and finding new ways together to simplify the job of managing Indiana's public records.

Wordcloud of text from the Indiana State Records Manager Handbook, in the shape of salmon and green party streamers
Last Month on As The Record Turns... 

On MS Teams, we had our December State Records Managers Chat on the 28th. 

Shockingly, some of you were actually at work that week, and we met with 16 Records Managers from 14 agencies.  Attending from IARA were Amy Robinson (State Records Analyst),  Amy Christiansen (County/Local Records Liaison), Madison Young (Records Analyst) and Sam Putnam (Records Center Director). 

 Spinning record on a turntable. They're like big CDs but you read them with a needle instead of a laser.
We discussed December's bulletin topics, which were
  • Happy holidays even to those weird people who like the cold.
  • Our 2024 State RM Chat schedule
  • The lingering power of Halloween on one lonely red helium balloon
  • Critical Records Program Survey

I've posted a link to the YouTube video of the December 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: Oversight Committee on Public Records Updates

This month: the January OCPR meeting is scheduled for the 31st, and while the agenda is not yet finalized, it looks like we'll be seeing schedules from the Department of Administration and the Law Enforcement Academy on the list.

This year: OCPR meeting dates for 2024!

(We're trying this thing called "facing reality instead of canceling the exact same meetings one at a time,"  thus the No Meeting Scheduled notes.)

  • January 31, 2024
  • February 28, 2024
  • March 2024 - No meeting scheduled.
  • April 24, 2024
  • May 29, 2024
  • June 19, 2024
  • July 2024 - No meeting scheduled. (As well as no RM Chat.)
  • August 28, 2024
  • September 25, 2024
  • October 30, 2024
  • November 2024 - No meeting scheduled.
  • December 18, 2024

General News

This January will be my last OCPR meeting as the person who writes the agendas, reserves the rooms, takes the minutes and tries to make sure the Committee members don't abscond with their nameplates.

As of February, Madison Young will be taking over the job of managing the meetings, and I'll go back to being there every month anyway because I'm submitting your retention schedules for approval!

This will change absolutely nothing about the retention schedule approval process from your side, other than a slight increase in "this should be in time to make the agenda" because I've handed over the phenomenal cosmic power of making the call on  that cutoff.

News You Can't Use

Our ornament exchanges are not like other people's ornament exchanges.

Jolly Old SantaCthulhu ornament

Also, I just took the second Christmas tree down today. Look, we take our holidays seriously around here and Christmas isn't over until Meaghan comes back from Hawaii. 

RIM Topic of the Month: Flashback! Archives vs. Records Center

We've talked about this before, but during this month's Records Coordinator Tours at 30th Street (more on that next month), we noticed that a number of records managers had never really understood the difference between the two divisions they were touring until they got to see the places and people in person.

Which says good things about the usefulness of our outreach project, but doesn't help those who weren't on the tour,  especially those who have only joined us aboard the Good Ship Records Management. 

Besides, everybody needs a refresher now and then, right?

The State Archives

  • Is located at: 6440 E. 30th St,  at least until we have our new building.

  • Houses: Records with permanent historical value, in many formats, that are designated in the applicable Records Retention Schedule for transfer to the State Archives at the end of their agency life, instead of being destroyed.

  • Records are transferred by agencies to the Archives using: SF 48883, following the instructions here.  

  • Records transferred to the State Archives are owned by:  the State Archives, usually with the ability to "weed, sample, and evaluate according to archival principles" which just means that the archivists are able to go through the records and preserve only what looks to be of permanent historical value.

  • Records that can be requested: Agencies can contact the Archives staff at archives@iara.in.gov to request copies of records that have been processed into the State Archives collections. (Not all documents transferred to the Archives are processed into the collections; see "weed, sample, and evaluate" above.)

  • What happens to these records: They live at the State Archives permanently, unless at some point in the future they are de-accessioned from the collections because they've been deemed to no longer be of permanent historical value.

  • When you say "I need to archive these records," you're saying: "I need to transfer these records to the State Archives to live forever." 

  • When we say "these records are archival," we're saying: "These records are currently scheduled to go to the State Archives when the agency retention period is complete, instead of being destroyed."


The State Records Center

  • Is located at: 6400 E. 30th St., for the foreseeable future. The Records Center will not be moving to the future State Archives building, under current plans.

  • Houses: Paper (and only paper) records designated in the applicable Records Retention Schedule for transfer to the Records Center for temporary storage.

  • Records are transferred by agencies to the Records Center using: SF 23628, following the instructions in the State Records Manager Handbook.

  • Records are owned by: the state agency which transferred them to the Records Center. Except under rare legal circumstances, only IARA staff and staff from the agency of ownership may access the records.

  • Records that can be requested: Any boxes or files can be checked out by the agency of ownership at any time during their storage period, using a State Form 24019, Request for Record. (As long as the file is in the listed box!)

  • What happens to these records: They are stored at the Records Center until the end of their agency life, then, depending on what the applicable Records Retention Schedule says, they will either be
    • destroyed
      OR
    • transferred to the State Archives.

    The Agency Records Coordinator receives notice of the impending destruction or transfer on a State Form 16 generated by the Records Center, and has the chance to confirm (by signing and returning the SF 16) or ask for a hold (using SF 47167) at that time.

  • When you say "I need to transfer these to the Records Center," you're saying: "I need these to go to the state's offsite records storage facility so my agency can check them in and out as needed."  

Boxes and Labels

  • Records Center boxes should be used for transferring paper records to the Records Center OR the State Archives.
    • Boxes are ordered directly from the Records Center, using one of the following two State Forms:
      • 53485 - Request for New Boxes and Lids - $2.50 per box, minimum order of 10 boxes
      • 54744 - Request for Used Boxes and Lids - $1.00 per box
  • Printable box labels are available as SF 25186 on the IARA website and may be used for transferring paper records to the Records Center OR the State Archives. [Use Avery 5126 label template. PDF | MS Word]

Bottom Line

The Records Center is that U-Haul locker you rent for the extra stuff from your move that you haven't found room for in the new house.  (Only bigger, better managed, and free.)  The State Archives is a museum full of stuff that government offices don't need anymore but citizens and researchers do!

 

January Records Managers Chat

Meeting Information

Date: 2024-1-25
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