Are We Saving the Right Records? |
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John W. CarlinThe most critical statutory responsibility I have as archivist of the United States is to approve Federal records' "disposition" that is, how long records must be kept to protect individual rights, ensure accountability in Government, and document the nation's historical experience. During the 20th century, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) developed policies and processes appropriate for the primarily paper records of the time. The reality at the beginning of the 21st century is that most records are created electronically and are maintained in many media. In fact, they are routinely converted from one medium to another, and may exist in multiple formats. Does this mean we need to change the ways in which the Government appraises records and schedules their disposition? As I have explained to leaders of historical organizations, we are going to find out. NARA has developed three connected projects relating to the changing Federal recordkeeping environment. The first is a study of current recordkeeping and records use in the Federal Government. Its purpose will be to give us a better understanding of practices and problems in agencies' management of their records today, covering creation, use, maintenance, and disposition. And this study will examine how new technology actually is affecting records creation, recordkeeping, and records disposition. We will share the final report of the study within the Federal Government and with interested members of the public. And the report from project one will inform projects two and three in our plan. Project two will be a policy analysis of legislation, regulations, and guidance pertaining to records disposition in the Federal Government. Among other things the analysis will cover the impact and implications of litigation involving records and relatively recent legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Government Paperwork Elimination Act. Out of this analysis will come recommendations for any changes that may be needed. We assume some will be desirable, but we have no preconceptions about what they are. This project will begin as information becomes available from project one, but the analysis will not conclude until project one's investigations and its report are complete. Completion of the third project will await the conclusion of both project one and project two. Project three will analyze and redesign, to the extent necessary, the process by which records are appraised and scheduled in the Federal Government. Project three will cover all four major parts of the process:
One major goal of this project is to make the process for determining the disposition of records more effective and efficient, regardless of medium, and to reduce dramatically the time it takes to review and approve schedules for the disposition of records. Because new technologies may be useful for speeding and improving the disposition process, an additional major goal of project three is to determine how such technologies might be applied. The ultimate outcome of these three projects, we believe, will be policy and process revisions that increase our confidence in the Government's ability to preserve records as long as needed for protecting rights, ensuring accountability, and documenting the national experience. That includes strengthened assurance that records genuinely needed by historians, current and future, will safely reach the National Archives for permanent preservation. At points along the way, we will ask historians among other members of the public to assist us in making these judgments. And we invite you to follow our progress through the records management section of our web site: <http://www.nara.gov/>. |
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