Reengineering NARA Records Management Policies
Susan R. Cummings
National Archives and Records Administration, United States of America
The topic of this session, the rules and practices of acquisition and appraisal, is at the very heart of NARA’s plan to completely re-examine our fundamental records management policies. The process used by NARA to appraise and schedule records was developed during the 20th century to manage paper records in paper recordkeeping systems. We know that technology has changed how records are created, managed, and used. Have these changes affected agency recordkeeping and records use? In response to these changes, should NARA change how it appraises and schedules records to be more reliable and efficient, and to be more responsive to the records creators and the public? To answer these questions, NARA has undertaken three initiatives to document the current recordkeeping and records use environment in Federal agencies, to use that information to analyze NARA’s records management policies, and to redesign, if necessary, the scheduling and appraisal process.
In this past year we completed the first initiative to document current recordkeeping and records use practices through two separate but equally important information collections. In the first information collection, we contracted with SRA, International to survey and interview a selection of U.S. Federal agencies on their views and perceptions of key questions concerning records creation, maintenance and use, including the effects of changes in technology, downsizing, outsourcing and legislation. We also asked SRA to consider in their analysis whether the "culture" of the agency (such as defence, social services, judicial, or scientific) or the work process (such as policy-making, regulation enforcement, casework or research) had any effect on recordkeeping. In the second information collection, NARA staff visited a subset of the agencies interviewed by SRA and carefully examined work processes and the records they generate to determine what records management practices actually are.
It was very difficult to get some agencies to agree to participate in our project. The agency records officer was usually very willing to take part. The Chief Information Officer, General Counsel, and Inspector General were less comfortable taking part, either because of they were too busy, or because they felt they had nothing to do with records management. It was more difficult to get supervisors to allow us to talk with process workers solely because they are so busy and they did not see an immediate benefit to their own agency. However, during the interviews all of these groups became very excited about the work they do and the importance of the documentation they create. In total we collected information from18 agencies in 26 offices in Washington, DC and around the United States.
In the next step, we combined the results of the two data collections to determine if there are records management patterns that will help us decide if we need to change our records management policies and our appraisal and scheduling practices.
At the time that this paper is written, the combined analysis of the two information collections has not been completed. However, there are some findings that stand out. First of all, the contractor reported a wide variability in records management techniques, approaches, and effectiveness across the government. Indeed, the degree to which the contractor could provide generalized findings that cut across agencies and across different respondent groups was limited because of the variability. They did suggest, however, that the overall success of records management in a particular federal agency is driven by a range of situational factors. (Successful records management is used here to mean that the agency understands and administers the various laws, guidelines, procedures, and policies currently in force related to records management.) Some of the situational factors they identified are:
- Agency culture.
- Work process.
- Administrative/financial commitment to records management.
- Business needs.
- Relationship with NARA.
Now that we have collected the information, NARA will begin the second initiative, to analyze our records management policies. We must make the hard decisions of how to change our policies and procedures to meet our responsibilities and agency needs. As we revise our policies we will need to show leadership and find ways to leverage our limited resources to get the most benefit.
We know we need to be more involved in the "front end" of records management. As stated in the description of this session, "selection has become imperative - actions taken at the time of creation may affect its ultimate preservation and continuing use." In 1999, NARA launched our Targeted Assistance initiative, a customer driven, problem-solving approach to records management that complements our appraisal program. Under this initiative, NARA works with agencies on well-defined projects to solve specific records management problems, generally at no cost to the agency. We have found that becoming involved at the front end of the records life cycle encourages good records management practices. Agency records officers are very grateful for the help and these projects give their records programs a higher profile with agency management.
Once NARA has revised its records management policies as needed we will redesign, as necessary, the scheduling and appraisal process - our third initiative. We will make the process for appraising and scheduling records, regardless of medium, more effective and efficient. We also plan to build an automated system to support the inventorying and scheduling of records, and to urge Federal agencies to use the system so that NARA can identify all Federal records created by agencies, review their contents, and be assured that essential evidence is not lost.
Further information about the three NARA initiatives discussed in this paper can be found on the NARA web site at: http://www.nara.gov/records/initiatives/
Susan R. Cummings
- Policy and Communication Staff.
- National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
- Telephone: 301 713-7360, x238.
- Fax: 301 713-7270.
- Email: susan.cummings@nara.gov.
Policy Specialist
- Policy and Communication Staff.
- National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
- July 1999- Present
Archives Specialist
- Office of Regional Records Services.
- National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
- July 1998 to July 1999.
Archivist
- Washington National Records Center.
- National Archives and Records Administration, Suitland, MD.
- April 1994 to June 1997.
Archivist
- Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, MD.
- November 1981 to March 1994.
Director of Publications
- Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, MD.
- August 1991 to March 1994.
Curator of Special Collections
- Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, MD.
- January 1983 to August 1991.
Education
- MA, 1978 Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
- BA, 1975 University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD.
Recent Presentations
- 2nd ACES Forum, February 14, 2001, "Implementing E-Signatures: Key Issues".
- CENDE, June 13, 2001, "Records Management: Management Now and in the Future".
Recent Publications
- Records Management Guidance for Agencies Implementing Electronic Signature Technologies, 2000 (NARA Publication; Principal Author).