Archival Records Appraisal Reports for Texas Agencies
Contents
Background | Using the Reports | Links to Reports
Background
Since 1988, state agencies have been required to prepare records retention schedules. These schedules are comprehensive lists that indicate the length of time a specific group of documents -- called a records series -- must be retained. Some records series, such as board meeting minutes, may need to be retained permanently, while others are designated for a set number of years.
Some records, however, may have a continuing value to the State of Texas or its citizens that extends beyond their useful life in a specific agency. These records series are considered "archival" and are transferred by the agency to the State Library and Archives. At the Archives and Information Services Division, the records are made available for administrative and research uses and they are preserved and protected.
In September 1995, recognizing the fact that records series are best evaluated for their long-term value in the context of all the agency's functions, the division embarked on a comprehensive program to appraise every records series likely to have archival value in each state agency.
Archivists were reassigned from managing records currently in the collection to conducting agency-by-agency appraisals. By working closely with records administrators at selected agencies, appraisal archivists are able to more accurately identify archival records series and sanction eventual destruction of non-archival series.
Agency-wide appraisal reports contain valuable information and we hope that presenting them on the Internet will distribute the information further. The last agency-wide appraisal was completed in March 2001. Appraisal continues with reports on one or a small group of records series.
Using the Reports
Records Appraisal Reports are comprehensive accounts of the process of appraising the records of an agency and of the resulting appraisal decisions. The reports can be read to determine (as of the date of the report) which records of an agency are of archival value; which records the Texas State Library and Archives Commission holds; which records the agency maintains and for how long; and which records are not archival.
In the list below, series-level appraisals can be distinguished from agency-wide appraisals by the inclusion of the series titles.
Links to Reports
Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board
Architectural Examiners, Board of
Attorney General Desk Calendars/Appointment Books
Attorney General News or Press Releases
Credit Union Department Administrative Correspondence and Reports (Non-Fiscal)
Criminal Justice, Department of
Criminal Justice, Department of, Facilities Division Building Construction Project Files
Criminal Justice, Department of, State Counsel for Offenders Legal Offender Files, Trial
Environmental Quality, Commission on
Governor Rick Perry Texas Film Commission
Higher Education Coordinating Board Texas Plan Files
Insurance, Department of, State Fire Marshal Key Rate City Files
Judicial Conduct, Commission on
Land Surveying, Board of Professional
Natural Resource Conservation Commission Office of the General Counsel Speeches and Papers
Pardons and Paroles, Board of, Full Pardon Files
Parks and Wildlife, 2000 Revised series reviews
Parks and Wildlife, 2002-ongoing Additional series reviews
Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Division Wildlife Topographic Maps
Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies, Board of
Private Investigators...,1998 Addendum
Psychologists, Board of Examiners of
Public Utility Commission, 1999 Addendum
Public Utility Regulation, Task Force on
Secretary of State Republic of Texas Records (Appraisal of archival holdings)
Secretary of State State of Texas Records (Appraisal of archival holdings)
Secretary of State Texas Register Section Correspondence - Administrative
Structural Pest Control Board, 1997 Addendum
Sunset Advisory Commission, 1999 Revision
Teacher Retirement System Selected Record Series
Texas National Research Laboratory Commission
Transportation, Department of, Archival Review Records Series
Transportation, Department of, Austin District Engineer Administrative Correspondence
Transportation, Department of, Building Facility Construction Projects, Successful Bid Proposals
Veterans Commission, 2000 Addendum
Workforce Commission General Counsel Selected Record Series
Youth Commission, 2004 Addendum