Sometimes, the Sunset Commission “sunsets” state agencies. But what does that mean? “In government, ‘Sunset’ reviews regularly assess the need for a state agency or program to exist. In Texas, the Sunset process works by setting an expiration (Sunset) date in law for state agencies. An agency will automatically be abolished on its Sunset date…
The records management assistance unit at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) receives many questions from state agencies when it comes to recertifying retention schedules. A question we commonly receive concerns the “R” code; what does “R – Archival Review” mean, and what does the State Archives have to do with it? TSLAC…
by Erica Rice To say goodbye to October, Archives Month, we think it’s time to explore the differences between the Records Management and Archives disciplines. Is it an unceasing rivalry, a harmonious friendship, or perhaps a little of both? Do records managers know anything about archival science? Do archivists even think about records managers? In…
As part of our ongoing celebration of Archives Month, we reached out to the Travis County Archives for a chat with Christy Costlow, CA about topics inspired by questions we’ve received over the years from local governments dealing with ongoing digital preservation efforts. TSLAC: Christy, tell us about your ongoing digitization project that was a…
If you’ve spent any amount of time perusing the local government retention schedules on our website—it is fair to assume this is the case if you’re reading this post in the first place—then you may have noticed in the Remarks section of certain record series a warning to “review before disposal…for historical reasons”. Have you…
We were recently asked by a state agency records manager for some questions that they could pass along to other agency staff (including non-records specialists) to arm them with important considerations to make before they request a new record series. You may or may not know that part of our job as analysts is to…