General guidance on various subjects in the field of records and information management.
On Friday, November 22nd, 2024, the annual e-Records Conference returned for the 25th time! As always, the event was co-sponsored by TSLAC and the Texas Department of Information Resources. Breaking last year’s record, this year’s conference was the largest ever with a total of 330 attendees. The number of Data Management Officers (DMOs) in attendance…
At the end of a record’s life cycle, destruction is the most common end. But there is another path: transferring the record to another entity for long-term preservation. For records with historical value, this may be an excellent option. So, how can local governments transfer their records? The Local Government Code spells out the conditions…
The spooky season is here once more. Let’s turn on our screens, grab the caramel corn, and don on our best striped outfits to enjoy another season of Halloween films. We in the records management field often see records and information management (RIM) applications in our entertainment. Let’s cross over and have an eerie time. (Warning:…
One of the ways we at the State and Local Records Management Division (SLRM) assist state agencies and local governments in ensuring records and information are accessible for the short-, medium-, and long-term is by operating a full-service, cost-recovery image conversion center, the Imaging Services Department. We recently asked Imaging Services Supervisor Jacqueline Jacobs and…
Just like your hopelessly romantic friend who continues to jump into the deep end of the dating pool will tell you, asking compatibility questions and planning to prevent later problems is intimidating and boring. However, five days later, over a gallon of Rocky Road in a dark room, listening to Adele, they’ll also tell you…
Earlier this year we collected helpful disaster recovery resources for government records. After Tropical Cyclone Francine made landfall in the gulf coast last week, we’d like to shine a spotlight on recovery of another important type of community asset, art and cultural heritage objects. Art and artifacts have special needs when it comes to recovery,…
World-breaking news in my world: Texas state agency and public university Records Management Officers (RMOs) and records liaisons are not skipping happily to their computers to begin working on their quinquennial records retention schedule recertification (recert). Cue the chill vinyl that was playing and is now scratching, my coffee cup dropping, and my heart breaking.…
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…