There’s nothing like the holiday season to get you thinking about history and traditions. But have you ever pondered the of role government records in documenting yuletide events? A recent history documentary sparked some Christmassy RIM-brain for me. It’s beginning to look a lot like records and information management (RIM) everywhere you go! In the…
Since Senate Bill (SB) 475 passed, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and Department of Information Resources (DIR) have received many questions. We plan to answer some of those questions below! We also created a guidance document to help those affected by SB 475 become more familiar with their role, responsibilities, and allies.…
Thank you for tuning in for the second post recapping the e-Records 2023 sessions. Also see our previous post: e-Records 2023 Session Recap #1 Hiring, Retaining, and Reskilling Your Workforce by: Megan Carey The first session of the day was a panel discussion lead by the self-titled “future of HR” moderator Lisa Jammer (Texas Department…
On Friday, November 3, the annual e-Records Conference returned for the 23rd year with another record turnout. Co-sponsored by TSLAC and the Texas Department of Information Resources, this year we were able to add a third breakout session to the day’s events and increased vendor support with 33 vendors on-site, six more than the previous…
It is once again the spooky season. Time for jump scares and horror thrills from our favorite scary flicks. We in the records management field often see records and information management (RIM) applications in our entertainment. So, let’s grab our candy corn and caramel apples and enjoy the feature. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!) Ghostbusters (1984) The…
Did you know that there is a free resource available through your local library to help you learn relevant skills needed to be an effective records manager? All you need is a library card! What is Udemy? Udemy is an online video learning platform. It’s one of the free TexShare databases offered at participating Texas…
For those of you using shared drives and not advertising shortcuts as a great solution to staff member’s file path and collaboration problems, I would like to ask: Why not? Probably because you have a million other things going on, but shortcuts really are one of the best ways to help staff collaborate on the…
A risk assessment is the practice of evaluating the inherent threats to and weaknesses in a government entity’s records and information. It is a recommended practice to evaluate the protection of your entity’s records in order to mitigate the potential destruction, harm, or loss to the information. While it may seem daunting to conduct a…
Developing training can be an intimidating task, but it doesn’t need to be insurmountable. Check out the tips below to get started on building an internal training program for your own organization. Get Top-Down Support We know we sound like a broken record about getting executive buy-in, but that is how important it is. This…
Welcome back to our occasional series “Off the Record,” a curated collection of articles we found interesting on a broad range of topics; some which are directly related to records management and others which might share common themes. No, we didn’t write these articles—hence the name of this series, “Off the Record”— but, fortunately, we…
Administratively Valuable (AV) is a retention code that stirs a lot of questions. How long is AV? What even is AV? Can you say “Administratively Valuable” five times fast? While we analysts at TSLAC can point out best practices and strategies regarding this retention code, we can only speculate so much. To offer a different…
This could be you. We are excited to announce that we will be hosting local government classes on: Each class is $20 per person, per day. Class size is limited to 24 people, so register today! Classes will be held at the Lorenzo de Zavala Archives and Library Building, 1201 Brazos St., Austin, TX 78701.…
How many duplicates of a record must a government keep for the full retention period? In terms of records management laws and rules, one copy of a record must be kept for the full retention period, and we call this the “official record copy.” Any identical copies of the official record copy are considered “convenience…
