Topical posts. Only applied to articles that appear on the FAQ page.
by Brianna Cochran By now, you’re probably aware your government is legally required to comply with records management laws. Though it is often difficult to motivate yourself, colleagues, or supervisors to implement something just because it’s required. It’s human nature to resist things we perceive as difficult, time-consuming, or obligatory. The records management assistance (RMA)…
The unique string of characters assigned to each records series on a Texas state agency retention schedule are known as Agency Identification Numbers – AINs. These initials that can also be pronounced (eyns), are the lifeblood of your retention schedule. There is a reason why it is the first value entered on any line containing…
Are you in a similar situation to one or more of the cases presented below? ❑ Case 1: Our records management compliance files are from the 1990s or earlier. ❑ Case 2: We have several ordinances and/or letters from different periods instead of one document that has all our records management policy information. ❑ Case…
The state agency recertification process can be daunting. A formal letter arrives from the State Records Administrator. The letter cites the chapter and verse of state agency scheduling rules. An email with an eight page attachment of tips, tricks, and rules is then deposited into your email inbox. It can seem like a lot, especially…
Of all the FAQs we get, this might be the most FAQiest of them all! Both local governments and state agencies want to know if they ‘go paperless’—if they digitize their essential records—can they get rid of the original paper or film copies? Yes! Records management laws and rules applicable to state agencies and local…
Determining your record’s fiscal year end (FE) date is important for destroying that specific record on schedule. Read TSLAC’s recommendation for keeping a disposition log to understand consequences of destroying a record too early and TSLAC’s thoughts on keeping a record too long. Fiscal year (FY) is a 12-month period office’s use for accounting purposes.…
The local government schedules or your state agency’s retention schedule should list all of the types of records your local government or state agency creates or receives since the disposition of a record cannot be carried out if it is not included on a retention schedule. Even so, a time may come when you will…
One of the most common type of questions we receive in the Records Management Assistance Unit is how to classify, find, file, and match records to the local government retention schedules. By definition and use, a records retention schedule is a documented policy that serves to identify the records created or received by an organization…