Electronic Records and Managing E-mail

1. Electronic Records and Managing E-mail

2. Electronic Records Connecticut Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (CGS §1-266 to 1-286) §1-267 (7) defines “electronic record,” to include e-mail §1-267 (8) regulates electronic transactions and signatures §1-282 extends the authority of the Office of the Public Records Administrator to include electronic records §1-283 allows for each agency to decide whether or not to accept electronic transactions

3. Managing Electronic Records The same records management principles apply to electronic records as paper records The content of the record determines whether or not it is a record, what records series it belongs to, and how long it should be retained, e.g., e-mail

4. Managing Electronic Records:Issues and Challenges Migration of data / information Technological obsolescence, e.g., hardware, system, software Multiple digital formats, e.g., database, document, spreadsheet Inventory control, e.g., multiple copies Growth in size / scope of information Complexity of digital files Systems backup Digitization / Optical Imaging Maintaining long-term records in a format that is human-readable, i.e., paper or microfilm

5. Managing E-mail • Follow policies and procedures • Apply records retention schedules • Be proactive! Manage your own e-mail on a consistent and active basis

6. Managing E-mail:State Policies • General Letter #2009-2: Management and Retention of E‐mail and other Electronic Messages • Establishes retention guidelines for electronic messages, including e-mail, IM, text messaging, and voice mail • StateAgencies’ Records Retention Schedule S1: Administrative Records • Lists retention periods and disposition

7. www.cslib.org/publicrecords/opraforms.htm#guidelines

8. Managing E-mail:Retention Guidelines • E-mail should be treated as correspondence • Retention categories: • Transitory • Routine • All Other

9. Managing E-mail:Retention Guidelines (Cont.) Transitory Correspondence (S1-060): Retention: No requirement Disposition: Destroy at will Description: Consists of transitory records that have short term administrative value (e.g., transmittal faxes/memos and out of office replies, and convenience copies that are distributed for information purposes). Includes hard copy and electronic formats.

10. Managing E-mail:Retention Guidelines (Cont.) Routine Correspondence (S1-070): Retention: 2 years from date of correspondence Disposition: Destroy after receipt of signed Form RC-108 Description: Consists of routine incoming correspondence, and copies of outgoing correspondence for internal and external audiences; general requests; and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Includes hard copy and electronic formats.

11. Managing E-mail:Retention Guidelines (Cont.) All Other Correspondence (S1-090): Retention: Follow retention of equivalent records series Disposition: Follow disposition of equivalent records series Description: Consists of correspondence other than transitory or routine, e.g., for correspondence related to a fiscal transaction, refer to S3-010, “3 years, or until audited, whichever is later.” Includes hard copy and electronic formats.

12. Managing E-mail:Filing and Classification E-mail systems are not designed to be filing systems Filing and classification is often determined by the user Files created by users are generally outside of the agency filing system

13. Managing E-mail:Individual Best Practices • Follow best practices for writing and sending e-mail: • Use short, accurate, and descriptive subject lines • Point to links instead of attaching files • Use copying and forwarding sparingly • Don’t let transitory e-mail accumulate • Review daily, weekly, and monthly • Don’t forget to manage sent mail

14. Managing E-mail:Individual Best Practices (cont.) • Utilize functions in your e-mail system to tag and categorize e-mail • Establish rules to direct specific messages to specific folders as they arrive • Set up folders to manage e-mail • If using subject folders, they should match your office filing system, or • Label the folders based on retention period or topic • Use available software tools, e.g., color