{"id":23323,"date":"2026-03-16T10:25:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/?p=23323"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:26:38","slug":"customizing-retention-schedule-descriptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2026\/03\/customizing-retention-schedule-descriptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Customizing Retention Schedule Descriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are the\u00a0descriptions\u00a0on your agency\u2019s retention schedule lacking flair? Customizing\u00a0records series\u00a0descriptions can\u00a0make\u00a0your schedule easier to navigate and\u00a0can\u00a0increase\u00a0clarity, helping\u00a0your\u00a0staff\u00a0classify records properly. Here are some tips for writing custom series descriptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"516\" height=\"291\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image.png\" alt=\"The restaurant manager from the movie Office Space telling Jennifer Aniston's character, &quot;We need to talk about your flair.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-23324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image.png 516w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-460x260.png 460w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 516px) 100vw, 516px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Background&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Each state agency and&nbsp;public&nbsp;university in Texas&nbsp;must&nbsp;create a unique&nbsp;records&nbsp;retention&nbsp;schedule&nbsp;based on the records they create and&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/Docs\/GV\/htm\/GV.441.htm#441.185\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Government Code \u00a7441.185<\/a>).&nbsp;Local governments in Texas must either keep all records&nbsp;permanently, or&nbsp;prepare a&nbsp;records control&nbsp;schedule&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/SOTWDocs\/LG\/htm\/LG.203.htm#203.041\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Local Government Code \u00a7203.041<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Custom retention schedules may use the descriptions provided in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/rrs\">RRS<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/urrs\">URRS<\/a>, or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/localretention\">local schedules<\/a>&nbsp;(for state agencies, public universities, and local governments, respectively).&nbsp;But,&nbsp;government entities can also customize descriptions to suit their needs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips for Good Descriptions&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Define&nbsp;Scope&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A good description provides a clear scope for the&nbsp;records that will be categorized in the series.&nbsp;Language describing the scope may include, for example,&nbsp;\u201ccharacteristics\u201d&nbsp;of the&nbsp;records, the&nbsp;\u201cfunctions and activities that produced\u201d the records, and the&nbsp;\u201ctypes of information\u201d&nbsp;contained in the records&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.archivists.org\/entry\/scope-and-contents-note.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Society of American Archivists<\/a>). A description&nbsp;with a&nbsp;clear scope will&nbsp;leave the reader with a straightforward understanding of what goes in the category and what does not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since government entities must follow the minimum retention periods set by TSLAC, be sure not to&nbsp;leave out&nbsp;a record type that is&nbsp;covered by the corresponding&nbsp;TSLAC&nbsp;series unless&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;accounting for that record type elsewhere on your schedule. For example, if the TSLAC series description includes \u201cworking files and related documentation,\u201d&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;need to make sure that working files are included in your custom description or that&nbsp;there\u2019s&nbsp;another series on the schedule for working files that meets the&nbsp;applicable&nbsp;minimum retention.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keywords,&nbsp;Jargon, Notes&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One&nbsp;easy way&nbsp;to enhance the descriptions on your retention schedule is to add&nbsp;keywords, jargon, or helpful notes for the benefit of your staff.&nbsp;Benefits of this strategy&nbsp;include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Making it easier to search in the document (with CTRL +&nbsp;F).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adding&nbsp;clarity by using&nbsp;specific&nbsp;language.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adding&nbsp;other helpful notes for your staff.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As an example,&nbsp;let\u2019s&nbsp;consider the&nbsp;\u201cTime and Attendance Reports\u201d&nbsp;series&nbsp;on local Schedule GR&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/localretention\/schedule_gr#s3-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GR1050-56<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>GR1050-56&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;<\/strong><em>Time cards&nbsp;or sheets, including work schedules and&nbsp;documentation&nbsp;evidencing adherence to or deviation from normal hours for those employees working on fixed schedules.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A government could customize this series by changing the wording&nbsp;of the description&nbsp;and adding some helpful notes, like so.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>Example Customized Description:<\/strong><em> Employee timesheets. These records show&nbsp;each employee\u2019s hours worked as well as&nbsp;adherence to or deviation from normal hours for those employees working on fixed schedules.&nbsp;Maintained by HR.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If \u201ctimesheets\u201d is the term used at this local&nbsp;government,&nbsp;that is how employees will&nbsp;likely search&nbsp;for the series, so&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;helpful to add that term. In this example, information about the custodian of the records has&nbsp;also&nbsp;been added. While it is not necessary for&nbsp;determining&nbsp;the retention period,&nbsp;knowing who&nbsp;the designated custodian is&nbsp;may be&nbsp;helpful for staff. Adding&nbsp;convenient&nbsp;details&nbsp;like these makes&nbsp;the series easier to find and more useful.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consider Your Audiences&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Retention schedules have two types of audiences: internal (agency staff), and external (TSLAC and other outside&nbsp;entities&nbsp;including the&nbsp;general public). Ideally, a description will be comprehensible&nbsp;and&nbsp;appropriate for&nbsp;both audience types.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Considering both audiences can mean finding a balance between using precise language and jargon that your staff uses and common terms understandable by others. For example, if you add an acronym in your description that your staff will recognize,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;a good idea&nbsp;to provide the full name as well for those who may be unfamiliar, e.g., \u201cTPS reports (Test Procedure Specification&nbsp;reports).\u201d&nbsp;It might also mean finding a balance between adding information&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;helpful for your staff and leaving out sensitive details not suitable for public release. For example, it may be helpful&nbsp;to your staff if you&nbsp;add the physical location of records to the description or remarks of a series, but this may not be&nbsp;appropriate for&nbsp;records with sensitive information that require security.&nbsp;So, be sure to consider both internal and external audiences when writing descriptions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The description is one of the most important parts of a retention series because it lets you know what records belong&nbsp;in&nbsp;that category. Finding the right amount of detail for each series can help make the retention schedule more useful for your staff. So, consider customizing your&nbsp;schedule\u2019s&nbsp;descriptions for greater efficiency and effectiveness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<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=\"23323\" 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\">    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are the\u00a0descriptions\u00a0on your agency\u2019s retention schedule lacking flair? Customizing\u00a0records series\u00a0descriptions can\u00a0make\u00a0your schedule easier to navigate and\u00a0can\u00a0increase\u00a0clarity, helping\u00a0your\u00a0staff\u00a0classify records properly. Here are some tips for writing custom series descriptions.\u00a0 Background&nbsp; Each state agency and&nbsp;public&nbsp;university in Texas&nbsp;must&nbsp;create a unique&nbsp;records&nbsp;retention&nbsp;schedule&nbsp;based on the records they create and&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;(Government Code \u00a7441.185).&nbsp;Local governments in Texas must either keep all records&nbsp;permanently, or&nbsp;prepare a&nbsp;records&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":19496,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[251,7],"class_list":["post-23323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips","tag-retention-schedule","tag-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23323","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\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23323"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23332,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23323\/revisions\/23332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}