{"id":18778,"date":"2023-03-13T09:41:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T14:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/?p=18778"},"modified":"2026-02-12T15:17:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:17:05","slug":"transaction-in-records-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2023\/03\/transaction-in-records-management\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Transaction&#8221; in Records Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Understanding what meets the definition of a \u201clocal government record\u201d is important for a local government employee (especially a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2016\/04\/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-records-manage-officer\/\">Records Management Officer<\/a>). This is because your entity&#8217;s local government record is a record that you\u2019re required to keep for a certain amount of time based on laws, rules, and standards associated with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2021\/05\/what-does-the-rma-team-do\/\">A.k.a., us<\/a>! If you&#8217;re not familiar with these requirements, we recommend watching our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/webinars\/rmb-lg\">Records Management Basics for Local Governments<\/a> webinar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There may be requirements for documents or objects falling outside of the definition, but those are not laws, rules, or standards for which TSLAC has advising responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>During our trainings, we like to break up the definition of a &#8220;local government record&#8221; found in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/pubs\/bulletind#Sec201_003:~:text=%22Local%20government%20record%22%20means,resolution%20system%20or%20organization.\">Local Government Code, Section 201.003<\/a>(8.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-white-color has-black-background-color has-text-color has-background\"><strong>A Local Government Record: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is created or received by a local government<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Documents the transaction of public business<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is a record whether it is open or closed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>May exist in any medium<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To help understand the term better, I like to use the first two bullet points as steps to narrow down to what merits a \u201clocal government record\u201d and the last two bullet points I use as a reminder that anything meeting the definition meets the definition. On a visual level, that would look like:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-black-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background\"><strong>STEPS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Did a local government create or receive this?\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If \u201cno,\u201d it does not meet the definition of a \u201clocal government record.\u201d <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If \u201cyes,\u201d move on to step 2.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does it document the transaction of public business?\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If \u201cno,\u201d it does not meet the definition of a \u201clocal government record.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If &#8220;yes,&#8221; it&#8217;s a local government record!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#7f0c0c\"><strong>REMINDER:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A \u201clocal government record\u201d can be open\/closed or confidential\/not confidential.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A \u201clocal government record\u201d can exist in any format (paper, microfilm, electronic (social media, text messages), etc.).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To master the first step, we recommend checking out our following articles: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2018\/11\/faq-redux-how-long-do-i-keep-email\/\">How Long Do I Keep Email?<\/a> has a 3-step flowchart that can be applied to any format and walks you through if your office is the custodian (record keeper) of a local government record.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2019\/07\/faq-who-is-the-custodian-of-this-record\/\">Who is the custodian of this record?<\/a> talks about what happens if you determine multiple people or entities are the custodian of a local government record. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking at those steps, I get stumped on the second step because what does \u201cdocument the transaction of public business\u201d mean? Specifically, I wonder how the term \u201ctransaction\u201d is used in records management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTransaction\u201d in records management means an interaction or exchange of public business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expanding on those more familiar terms: \u201cInteraction\u201d means that you are interacting with someone, e.g., having a conversation, and \u201cexchange\u201d means that you are sharing, giving, or receiving information about a local government entity\u2019s operations, functions, responsibilities, etc.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>E.g., If TSLAC was considered a local government, this blog article would be a local government record because we are sharing information that relates to our responsibilities as a government entity to consult Texas local governments and state agencies. If you were to comment below, e.g., &#8220;TSLAC is awesome and I want to request training,&#8221; and we responded &#8220;We have training available on these dates&#8230;&#8221; We are now interacting related to our responsibility as a government entity to provide training to Texas local governments and state agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help learn the concept further, so that your entity only keeps records you are responsible for, checkout our \u201cTransaction\u201d activity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-947854a0-24d4-47f0-8087-55dd34d5a5a5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transitory-Exercise.pdf\">Transitory-Exercise<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transitory-Exercise.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-947854a0-24d4-47f0-8087-55dd34d5a5a5\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After you&#8217;ve mastered understanding how the term &#8220;transaction&#8221; is used in records management, you will be able to determine if this is a record you are required to keep. How long to keep the record can be answered by your entity\u2019s Records Management Officer or your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/local\/countylist\">regional analyst at TSLAC<\/a>!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transaction-Meme-1000x555.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18943\" width=\"527\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transaction-Meme-1000x555.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transaction-Meme-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transaction-Meme-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Transaction-Meme.png 1074w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div class=\"pld-like-dislike-wrap pld-custom\">\r\n    <div class=\"pld-like-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-like-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"Like it?\" data-post-id=\"18778\" data-trigger-type=\"like\" data-restriction=\"cookie\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                            <img src=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/512x512.png\" alt=\"Like it?\" \/>\r\n            <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-like-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\">1    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding what meets the definition of a \u201clocal government record\u201d is important for a local government employee (especially a Records Management Officer). This is because your entity&#8217;s local government record is a record that you\u2019re required to keep for a certain amount of time based on laws, rules, and standards associated with the Texas State&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":18903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[573,150,6,574,57,572],"class_list":["post-18778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips","tag-local-government-record","tag-local-government-records-act","tag-local","tag-retain","tag-retention","tag-transaction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18778"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18986,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18778\/revisions\/18986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}