(Author: Rebecca Hanna, Coauthor: Erica Siegrist) In April 2020, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Records Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This article will answer the same questions to provide Texas-specific guidance for state agencies and local governments. Records Management Related to Teleworking How should Texas…
by Erica Rice When we talk about records management on this blog, we often use the “R.I.M.” or “RIM” acronym as a shorthand way to refer to the “records and information management” field. Records management (RM) is no longer a siloed discipline; RIM practitioners need to manage records within the entire information landscape of their…
by Erica Rice How long should you keep records documenting the copyright of an original work of authorship? Records documenting the copyright status of original works are administratively valuable when it comes to crafting licensing agreements, drafting acceptable use notices, responding to infringement lawsuits, etc. For Texas state universities, the answer is simple: follow the…
by Erica Rice Continuing our series on “Creating Records at Home” (Part I covered Microsoft Teams), let’s talk about what to do with records created in videoconferencing platforms like Zoom. Many readers may be getting questions from their staff about what to do with their Zoom recordings and chat logs. Are they records, and if…
by Erica Rice Note: This article only applies to local governments and state agencies that are not healthcare providers. Any public health agencies, public hospitals, or health departments should follow the retention periods in Schedule HR (for local governments) or in their specific agency retention schedule. Since the start of the 2020 pandemic, many organizations…
by Erica Rice [Edited 7/16/20: This post was updated to include new information about applying retention policies in Teams.] The great Dr. Patricia C. Franks once wrote, “Records and information managers who understand the way work is conducted in their organizations have a better chance of identifying and providing intellectual and/or physical control over the…
On May 10, 2020, the newest and fifth-est edition of the Texas State Records Retention Schedule (RRS) will go live! The amendments to 13 TAC ยง6.10(a) are adopted as an administrative rule of the commission – see the full official announcement on the Texas Register. For state agency and state university RMOs, this means that…
by Erica Rice [Updated 7/6/2020]: On July 2, 2020, the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued guidance requiring that all Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant documentation be retained for 5 years. Visit the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s website for more information about CARES funds. The analysts here at TSLAC…