General guidance on various subjects in the field of records and information management.
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…
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…
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…
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…
As of July 14, 2023, a new version of Bulletin C: Inventorying and Scheduling of Records is available on our website! The guidance contains helpful tips on how to conduct an inventory and how to appraise records. Bulletin C also contains the following templates: Other material packed into Bulletin C includes more specific material about…
Shared file environments can be a real challenge to organize and maintain. Below are some tips to help your shared drive structures get into and stay in shape. Consistency Structure and Control Change Management Disposition Shared drives can be chaotic, but they don’t have to be that way. Employing simple techniques like the ones above…