If you work for a county government, you may have spoken with your analyst about the position of Countywide RMO (CW RMO). Let’s dive in a little deeper. What is a Countywide RMO? The CW RMO’s duties are authorized in statute and are essentially to administer the county’s records management program. The CW RMO not…
Birth, marriage, and death records. While these records are parts of lives lived, they are all also valuable tools to help live those lives—but not always in the ways one might expect. Sure, many people use these as part of genealogical research or to perhaps apply for or renew certain documents. But that’s not all…
Maps and plats play a huge part in how a municipality is laid out, zoned, developed, and built. Maps assist in navigation of the municipality, while plats establish the boundaries. Because these record types can seem similar, it is sometimes difficult for local government employees to identify an appropriate retention series on the Local Government…
When it comes to census records, most Americans are aware the Census Bureau conducts the decennial census count of the population in the United States. This count is mandated by law in the US Constitution as a way to not only count the population, but also to aid in determining governmental representation and the distribution…
In this edition of Remarkable Records, we are going to look at photographs that document local governments and state agencies. Photographs capture a moment in time as a visual representation that represent infrastructure, events, and people that help to shape the state we are now. Local Governments El Paso, ca. 1880 (El Paso Historical Society)…
For all state agencies, no matter the size, the Records Management Officer (RMO) is an essential member of the agency staff. And, while the RMO position was first established in 1997 (75th Leg., R.S.), the relatively new position of Data Management Officer (DMO) was established in 2021 (87th Leg., R.S.). Designating a DMO is required…
In the State and Local Records Management Division (SLRM) here at TSLAC, we receive a lot of questions in regard to permanent records. “Why do they need to be saved?” “How should permanent records be stored?” “What do we do if there is any damage?” To begin to answer these questions, it helps to learn…
When facing the task of recertifying or amending a state agency or public university records retention schedule, whether it is annually, biennially, or most often, quinquennially, there are different metaphors Your Helpful Government Information Analyst may use to think about how the assignment can be approached. Some of the metaphors an analyst might consider are…