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Electronic Records Management (ERM)

The Management of Information Systems within the Federal Government

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ERM Authorities

GSA, 36 CFR 1234, Electronic Records Management GSA, 36 CFR 1228.270, Disposition of Federal Records

OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources,

Executive Order 13011 (July 16, 1996), Federal Information Technology

Public Law 104-231, Electronic Freedom of Information Act (E-FOIA)

Public Law 105-277, Government Paperwork Elimination Act

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Overview

This presentation is provided to assist those in the Records Management arena who are owners, managers, and administrators of the various Information Systems we work with each and everyday in our respective Agency‘s. An important process in the management of Information Systems is the Scheduling of these various Systems with NARA (National Archives and Records Administration).

It is suggested that Agency’s complete an inventory of the various Systems owned by their Agency. Once this inventory is completed it should be submitted to the Records Management Division of your Agency.

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Overview continued… The System scheduling process involves coordination

between the E-Records manager, system owners (or system administrators), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to: Procedures will consist of:

Drafting disposition instructions, and; Schedule site visits by the archivist to check systems,

records, and resolve any issues Upon request, a meeting should be arranged with the

archivist and E-Records manager to assist with completion of the form. This meeting will also provide an opportunity to check the system/records, and answer questions.

Afterwards, the scheduling of the disposition instructions goes through an approval process by NARA (and GAO if financial system/records) before they can be implemented and added to the Electronic Records Disposition Schedule.

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Purpose

A "records inventory" is a detailed listing of the volume, scope, andcomplexity of an organization's records. The results of this survey can be used to analyze the records for various purposes including retention and protection.

The purpose of this information systems inventory is to establish current status of electronic records (and information systems) maintained in our computing environment.

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What is an agency schedule?

Agencies are required by law to develop records schedules for all of their records not covered by the GRS (44 U.S.C. 3303). After reviewing their records, agencies submit the schedules for NARA approval on an SF 115, Request for Records Disposition Authority.

The SF 115 contains descriptions of record series or systems and disposition instructions for each. These instructions specify when the series is to be cut off, when eligible records are to be moved to off-site storage, when eligible temporary records must be destroyed or deleted, and when permanent records are to be transferred to the National Archives.

Schedules may not be implemented until NARA has approved them. Some schedules, especially those containing records relating to financial management, claims, and other related matters, must also be approved by the General Accounting Office (GAO) (44 U.S.C. 3309) before NARA will approve them.

Once approved by NARA, retention periods in the schedules are mandatory and authorize the systematic removal of unneeded records from Federal offices.

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What are the benefits of using records schedules?

Using records schedules:

Ensures that the important records are organized and maintained in such a way as to be easily retrieved and identifiable as evidence of the program's activities, especially in the event of an audit, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, or a discovery in a lawsuit.

Conserves office space and equipment by using filing cabinets to store only active paper records and conserves server space by using tapes, disks, and other off-line storage media for electronic records.

Saves money by moving inactive files to off-site storage areas until they are ready

for final disposition. Helps preserve those records that are valuable for historical or other research

purposes. Controls the growth of records in offices through the systematic disposition of

unneeded records.

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Schedules

Does your Agency have an Electronic Records Disposition Schedule that has been approved by NARA?

General Records Schedules (GRS)

GRS 20, Electronic Records

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Annually: Contact system managers and provide inventory form and instructions.

Annually: Analyze results and coordinate with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to finalize actions necessary to complete the update of the Electronic Records Disposition Schedule. These actions might include:

•Additional coordination with system managers to clarify issues•Scheduling disposition for systems/records that are not scheduled•Follow up visits by NARA to check information systems•Coordination with GAO (Financial Records) and NARA on final approval of disposition schedule

Action Plan

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Instructions to Improve the Management of your Information Systems

Prepare an Inventory Information Form

Prepare FAQs About Records Inventories

Provide Tips for Scheduling Electronic Databases

Provide Records Management Briefing for Systems and Program Managers

Training, Training, and more Training

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References

Terms and Miscellaneous Information

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Official Records

"Official Agency Records" are the documentation, including all background materials, resulting from specific transactions, operations or processes which are accumulated and maintained in filing equipment. Official Agency records include information recorded on any medium including paper, microform, cards, film, audio tape, optical disk, or magnetic media.

By law, Federal records are:

All documentary materials including letters, memorandums, completed forms statistical & narrative reports, graphics, photographs, audio & video recordings, maps, architectural / engineering and other drawings.

Regardless of physical forms including photographic prints & negatives, motion picture film, tape recordings, and electronic records.

made or received by an agency of the U.S. Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business, and

preserved or appropriate for preservation as evidence of agency functions, organization, and activities or because of the value of the information they contain (44 U.S.C. 3301).

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Electronic Files

Information technology uses the word record to describe a particular set of information. In this data processing context, records are composed of fields of information, and a collection of such fielded records comprises an electronic file.

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Records Life CycleThe records life cycle is the life span of a record from its creation orreceipt to its final disposition. It is usually described in three stages: creation, maintenance/use, and final disposition.

1) Much of this guidance deals with the creation stage because the electronicsignature record is created during the first stage of the records life cycle.

2) The second stage, maintenance and use, is the portion of the records life cycle in which the record is either maintained at the agency while in active use, or is maintained off-line when use is less frequent.

3) The final stage of the records life cycle is disposition, which describes the ultimate fate of the record. Federal records are categorized as having either a "temporary" or "permanent" disposition status.

• Temporary records are held by agencies for specified time periods before they are destroyed or deleted.

• Permanent records are first held by agencies and then legally transferred to NARA.

Electronically-signed records may be either temporary or permanent. The eventual disposition of electronically-signed records is subject to negotiation between the agency and NARA, but agencies are not authorized to dispose of records without approval from NARA.

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Information Systems

An Information System is the organized collection, processing, transmission, and dissemination of information in accordance with defined procedures.

NARA's concern is with the government information in the system, that is, with information created, collected, processed, transmitted, disseminated, used, stored, and disposed of by the Federal Government. An electronic information system includes the inputs and outputs that are generated, as well as the information on electronic media.

The system may contain budgetary, fiscal, social, economic, scientific-technical or program-related data and information, operated in support of agency programs and management responsibilities.

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Electronic Information System: A system that contains and provides access to computerized Federal records and other information. (36 CFR 1234.2)

• May create and maintain Federal records but does not provide record management functionality.

• Contains “real time” or frequently updated information. • Is designed to allow information to be manipulated, changed, and

updated.

OMB Circular No. A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources

A. Provides uniform government-wide information resources management policies

B. Requires agencies to plan in an integrated manner for managing information throughout its life cycle.

Electronic Information Systems (Cont.)

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Information System Documentation

System Managers shall maintain adequate and up-to-date technical documentation for each electronic information system that produces, uses, or stores data files. Minimum documentation required is a narrative description of the system; physical and technical characteristics of the records, including a record layout that describes each field including its name, size, starting or relative position, and a description of the form of the data (such as alphabetic, zoned decimal, packed decimal, or numeric), or a data dictionary or the equivalent information associated with a data base management system including a description of the relationship between data elements in data bases; and any other technical information needed to read or process the records (see 36 CFR 1234.20).

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The "system development life cycle" describes the phases of development of an electronic information system. These phases typically include:

1. Initiation, 2. Definition, 3. Design, 4. Development, 5. Deployment, 6. Operation, 7. Maintenance, 8. Enhancement, 9. Retirement.

System development life cycle

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System development life cycle (Cont.)

A significant step in several of the stages is the definition, development, and refinement of the data model that includes treatment of the records being created or managed. Information systems developed according to system development methodologies, including those that agencies use to implement the electronic signature requirements of GPEA, will produce new records or augment existing records.

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ERM Terms

Electronic Records

Electronic, or machine-readable records, are records on electronic storage media (A Glossary for Archivists, Manuscript Curators, and Records Managers, Society of American Archivists: Chicago, 1992 p. 12). Electronic record, as defined in NARA regulations (36 CFR 1234.2), means any information that is recorded in a form that only a computer can process and that satisfies the definition of a Federal record per the Federal Records Act definition supplied above. Federal electronic records are not necessarily kept in a "recordkeeping system" but may reside in a generic electronic information system or are produced by an application such as word processing or electronic mail.

Metadata

Metadata is a term that describes or specifies characteristics that need to be known about data in order to build information resources such as electronic recordkeeping systems and support records creators and users.

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Terms (Cont.)

Electronic information system [EIS] (From WhatIs.Com, term=INFORMATION SYSTEM)

"The collection of technical and human resources that provide the storage, computing, distribution, and communication for the information required by all or some part of an enterprise. A special form of information system is a management information system (MIS), which provides information for managing an enterprise."

Electronic information systems automate certain business functions. Other programmatic electronic information systems may automate agency mission-specific business functions, and as such, may produce Federal records in the process. These electronic information systems may or may not incorporate all aspects of appropriate electronic recordkeeping, depending on their design characteristics.

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Terms (Cont.)

Electronic Recordkeeping System [ERKS]

An electronic recordkeeping system [ERKS] is an electronic information system that meets an agency's recordkeeping needs. At a high level, NARA has defined an ERKS as an electronic information system in which records are collected, organized, and categorized to facilitate their preservation, retrieval, use, and disposition (36 CFR 1234.2). From a records perspective, an ERKS will ensure that the records it maintains will have sufficient authenticity and reliability* to meet all of the agency's recordkeeping needs.

*The International Council on Archives document Guide for Managing Electronic Records from an Archival Perspective states "The reliability of a record is its ability to serve as reliable evidence....Authenticity refers to the persistence over time of the original characteristics of the record with respect to context, structure and content. An authentic record is one that retains its original reliability."

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Electronic Document Management System

(EDMS)

An electronic document management system [EDMS] is software that manages the creation, storage, and control of semi-structured documents. It consists of several technologies including, but not limited to document management, COLD (Computer Output to Laser Disk), imaging, and workflow. See Preliminary Planning for Electronic Recordkeeping: Checklist for RM Staff for a more detailed description of these technologies.

In part, because an EDMS does not support the preservation of the business context of an individual record (i.e., EDMS systems manage a content item as an individual unit, as opposed to preserving its relationship to a larger group of documents that provide evidence of the same particular organizational function), EDMS systems are not electronic recordkeeping systems.

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Records Management Application (RMA)

Records Management Application [RMA] is the term used in DoD 5015.2-STD, Design Criteria Standard for Electronic Records Management Software Applications, for software that manages records. Its primary management functions are categorizing and locating records and identifying records that are due for disposition. RMA software also stores, retrieves, and disposes of the electronic records that are maintained in its repository. DoD 5015.2-STD requires that RMAs be able to manage records regardless of their media. The DoD maintains a list of software products that have been tested and certified to comply with the mandatory requirements of DoD 5015.2-STD.

See NARA endorsement of DoD 5015.2-STD.

For more terms, see EPA’s Records Management Glossary

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The End

Questions, Comments, Assistance????

Contact Ken MatthewsE-Records Project Managerchapkenmat@gmail.com

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