Electronic Records Committee
BACKGROUND:
- Formed in April 1998 at the request of the Records and Forms
Management Division (Department of Management and Budget) and the
State Archives of Michigan (Department of State).
- Sponsored by the Chief Information Officer for the State of Michigan
and the DMB Deputy Director for Management Services.
- Membership includes records managers, archivists, information
technology professionals, purchasing officers, attorneys, auditors and
end-users.
- Meets quarterly to discuss progress, endorse activities, and debate
future objectives.
- Primary concern is the impact that computer technology has on
government's ability to retain electronic public records for as long
as they are needed and then destroy them completely.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ERC:
QUESTIONS?
Contact: Jim Kinsella, Records and Forms Management Division, (517)
335-9130
Recommend enterprise-wide standards and provide guidance to state
government agencies for the creation, management, accessibility,
retention, and preservation of information in electronic formats.
Definition: Electronic Record
- An electronic record is information recorded by a computer that is
produced or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an
agency or individual activity. To provide sufficient evidence, the
record must comprise content, context and structure.
Action Agenda
ISSUE #1: SUPPORT FOR ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION
ISSUES
- Build support for statewide solutions to electronic records
management and preservation problems.
- Develop an understanding of the complexity of electronic records
management and preservation problems.
ISSUE #2: IDENTIFY AND APPRAISE ELECTRONIC RECORDS IN ORDER TO
ESTABLISH RETENTION AND DISPOSAL SCHEDULES
- Support efforts of Records Management staff in the development of
retention and disposal schedules for electronic records.
- Identify the information that needs to be gathered to inventory and
appraise electronic records.
ISSUE #3: ENSURE THAT ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION
ISSUES ARE CONSIDERED AND PLANNED FOR DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW
SYSTEMS AND UPGRADES
- Develop a method that incorporates records management and
preservation issues into the systems development process.
ISSUE #4: COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMS DOCUMENTATION FOR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS
- Recommend that comprehensive and consistent systems documentation be
created, maintained and kept current.
ISSUE #5: GENERAL RETENTION SCHEDULE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFICES
- Support efforts of Records Management staff in the development of a
general retention schedule for common information technology office
records.
ISSUE #6: EDUCATE STATE EMPLOYEES ABOUT ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT
AND PRESERVATION ISSUES
- Interdisciplinary participation in the development of educational
tools and programs to ensure they address all needs and are supported
by all groups.
ISSUE #7: STATEWIDE STANDARDS, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC
RECORDKEEPING SYSTEMS
- Interdisciplinary participation in the development of standards,
policies and procedures to ensure they address all needs and are
supported by all groups.
- Ensure that technology purchased by the State is compatible and
migratable from one product to another through enterprise-wide
solutions.
ISSUE #8: IMPLEMENTATION OF RETENTION, PRESERVATION AND DISPOSITION
REQUIREMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROVED RETENTION AND DISPOSAL SCHEDULES
- Develop a method to ensure that electronic records are retained for
as long as they are legally needed and are deleted when their
retention period has expired.
- Develop an auditing mechanism to ensure standards are followed.
ISSUE #9: PRESERVATION AND ACCESSIBILITY OF LONG-TERM OR ARCHIVAL
ELECTRONIC RECORDS
- Recommend how the state will keep its electronic records accessible
and usable for extended periods of time due to the fact that
technology changes. Compatibility problems and technological
obsolescence threaten the long-term and archival accessibility of
electronic records
ISSUE #10: ENSURE THAT STANDARDS ARE KEPT CURRENT AS TECHNOLOGY AND
NEEDS CHANGE
- Develop a mechanism for an ongoing review of standards and
processes.
- Adopted a mission statement, a definition of electronic records, and
an action agenda
- Published Electronic Records Procedure
- Hosted Symposium "Managing Electronic Records for the Next
Millennium"
- September 8, 1999
- Attended by 240 state employees
- Speakers included: Janet Phipps, DMB Director; Jennifer Granholm,
Attorney General; Michael Miller, National Archives and Records
Administration; Tiffany Murphy, Electronic Evidence Discovery,
Inc.
- Received $190,000 Federal Grant
- Developed Organizing Electronic Files Class
Beginning in April 1998, the ERC met on a periodic basis, as input from
committee members was deemed necessary. In June 2000, the ERC agreed to
hold quarterly meetings, and proceedings were distributed to all members.
The ERC is an advisory group that recommends and endorses best practices.
There is no official chair, nor is there official membership. Meetings are
coordinated by the Records and Forms Management Division and the State
Archives of Michigan. Participation is encouraged for all state employees
who have an interest in the retention and preservation of electronic
records.
Lake Superior Room, Michigan Library and Historical Center
Attendees: Jim Kinsella, DMB; Dean Kohagen, DMB; Debbie Gearhart, DMB;
Bill Bailey, CIS; Jim Matson, DOS; Dave Johnson, DOS; Caryn Wojcik, DOS;
Deb Gouin, DMB; Doug Case, DMB; Mimi Dionne, DMB; Sandy Friedle, DMB;
Scott Leonard, DOS; Helen Taylor, DOS; Julie Meyerle, DOS; Sandra Clark,
DOS; Jeff Stoney, DMB; Rob Sarro, Allegan; Bill Deetz, Allegan; Kristin
Coffindaffer, Allegan; Paul Koons, Attorney General; Matt Keck, Attorney
General.
- RMA Pilot Project Status
The pilot project which is jointly sponsored by the Records and Forms
Management Division and the State Archives of Michigan officially
began on May 1. The software (ForeMost Enterprise v. 2) has been
purchased and will be installed in July. Two new people have been
hired to work on the project: Mimi Dionne and Deb Gouin. Other project
staff include: Jim Kinsella, Project Director, Doug Case and Caryn
Wojcik.
- ForeMost Demonstration
Rob Sarro, Records Manager, and Bill Deetz, Human Resources Director,
for Allegan County government provided a demonstration of how they are
using ForeMost. They have been using ForeMost since January and are
having great success with it. They demonstrated what the file plans
look like, how to file electronic records into the repository and how
to search and retrieve electronic records. Bill Deetz explained how
his staff can now retrieve records in about 5 seconds, compared to
five minutes, and how use of the software has improved their business
processes.
- E-mail FAQ
Previous versions of the guide have been reviewed and discussed by the
ERC, since then it has been distributed for comment to the CIOs,
administrative officers, and RMOs. Comments were received from these
groups and a written response to those comments was drafted and
distributed at the meeting. One of the suggestions was to prepare a
cover letter for department directors, CIOs and administrative
officers that highlights their role in implementing good management of
e-mail. The draft cover letter was distributed for comment at the
meeting. The final version of the E-mail FAQs will be published on the
web page of the Records and Forms Management Division, and they will
be printed and distributed through other means as well.
- Electronic Files Class
Debbie Gearhart and Caryn Wojcik have developed a class about
Organizing Electronic Files. The audience is anyone who uses a
computer to create/use e-mail, word processed documents, spreadsheets,
etc. It is a 2 hour class with lecture and a hands-on exercise, and a
Windows Explorer class is a pre-requisite. Debbie is teaching OSS/RMA
project participants, and DMB/ITSD is offering the class to all DMB
employees. We are working with LCI to add the class to their catalog
for state employees, and hopefully the class will be available to all
state employees either internally or through LCI by January. In
addition, we are developing a manual and an online version (www) for
employees who do not work in Lansing. A modified version of the class
is also being prepared for use by local governments and public
universities.
- Future Meetings
Please mark your calendars now for future Electronic Records Committee
quarterly meetings:
- September 19, 2000, 10:00-12:00pm, Lake Superior Room, Michigan
Library and Historical Center
- December 19, 2000, 10:00-12:00pm, Lake Superior Room, Michigan
Library and Historical Center
- March 20, 2001, 10:00-12:00pm, Lake Superior Room, Michigan
Library and Historical Center
- Mission
Electronic Records Committee Meeting Minutes
Lake Superior Room, Michigan Historical Center
Present: Tom Fogle, Sandy Friedle, Art Lauer, Caryn Wojcik, Debbie Gearhart, Dean Kohagan, Jim Kinsella, Jeff Stoney, Steve Bauer.
Status of Email FAQ
- Email FAQ awaiting approval.
- The Governor's Office has requested an Email Policy.
- Laws and policies are in place to cover the issues raised in the Email FAQ.
RMA Project
- The last meeting featured a status update and presentation from Allegan county.
- The project team had hoped to demo ForeMost today, however the software is not ready yet.
- We are receiving good feedback about the RMA project webpage from accross the country.
Electronic Files Class
- Lori Edwards is currently teaching the class to DMB employees.
- Handout was distributed.
- The class is now available to all state employees, either through the agency training coordinator or through a training vendor.
Electronic Forms
- E-Michigan is very interested in e-forms.
E-Michigan
- Jim Hogan discussed E-Michigan
5 theme teams:
- Education
- Business Services
- Health and Human services
- Travel and Tourism
- (Occupational and Professional) Licenses, etc.
- HoganJ@michigan.gov
Attendees: Jim Kinsella, DMB; Debbie Gearhart, DMB; Bill Bailey, CIS;
Jim Matson, DOS; Dave Johnson, DOS; Caryn Wojcik, DOS; Sandra Clark, DOS;
Darrin Fowler, AG; Matthew Keck, AG; Tom Fogle, DMB; Art Lower, DMB.
- RMA Pilot Project Status
The RMA software, ForeMost, was installed. On November 17 a ceremony
was held to officially file the first documents using ForeMost. The
first group of users was trained and is currently using the software.
There have been some problems with the software and the network, however
many of them have been resolved. The project team is using a variety of
methods to analyze the impact that ForeMost has on business processes
and the cultural changes that users experience. In addition, the project
team is working with the Michigan Gaming Control Board to help them
implement another RMA product, called iRims. This will allow the team to
evaluate two products.
- Records Media Act
In November 1998 the State of Michigan promulgated rules to regulate
the use of imaging technology as a record reproduction method by Michigan
government agencies at the state, local, legislative and judicial levels.
Due to a variety of factors, we now believe that it is time to amend the
law, the "Records Media Act," that mandated the promulgation of
these rules. Changing the law will allow us to revise the rules so they
meet the needs of Michigan government agencies.
The State Archives of Michigan is coordinating the effort to amend the
law and distributed the draft amendment. There were three amendments in
the package, because the provisions in the amended Records Media Act would
also require changes to the Historical Commission Act and the
Administrative Procedures Act.
The committee members were asked to submit comments in writing by
January 15, 2001 to Caryn Wojcik.
- DMB Reorganization
The Records and Forms Management Division will be moved to the IT
side of DMB from the Management Services side. This is seen as a
positive change considering the recent initiatives with electronic
records and electronic forms.
- E-mail
The Governor has asked George Boersma to develop an e-mail policy. One
of the issues that seems to cause the most concern is that people have
trouble identifying which e-mail messages are records and which are not. A
draft diagram was distributed that attempts to teach people what the
differences are. The diagram was discussed and suggestions for
improvements were made.
- Web site
The Electronic Records Committee now has its own web site that can be
accessed from the web page of the Records and Forms Management Division:
http://www.state.mi.us/dmb/mgmt/services/oss/rfmd
- Future Meetings
Please mark your calendars now for future Electronic Records Committee
quarterly meeting:
March 20, 2001, 10:00-12:00pm
Michigan Library and Historical Center, Lake Superior room
Attendees: Jim Kinsella, DMB; Bill Bailey, CIS; Marvin Scarlata, DOS;
Dave Johnson, DOS; Caryn Wojcik, DOS; Matthew Keck, AG; Art Lower, DMB;
Jeff Stoney, DMB; Doug Case, DMB; Carol Keyes Baubie, DMB; Don Stevens,
DCS; Deborah Gouin, DMB; Mimi Dionne, DMB; Ann Sanders, LM.
- RMA Pilot Project Status
Mimi Dionne provided a demonstration of ForeMost, the RMA software. All
60 pilot project participants have been trained and are able to use the
software. Some of them are quite happy with it, and have demonstrated how
it improves their business processes. Several focus group meetings have
been held with all of the users to acquire feedback about the software,
and more potential uses of the RMA were discussed. Jim Kinsella provided a
handout about potential business improvements that can be acquired when
using a RMA.
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)
Caryn Wojcik is on the archival advisory board for a research project
that the SDSC is conducting to develop methodologies for preserving
electronic records. The board and project are funded by a NHPRC grant, the
same federal agency that gave Michigan money to pilot test RMA software.
NHPRC has offered Michigan and the SDSC an additional grant for
collaborating on a project to develop a methodology for preserving records
that are stored in the RMA’s
repository. Caryn is writing the grant proposal.
Computer scientists from the SDSC will be visiting Michigan on June
20-21 to share information about their research. All ERC members are
invited to attend a presentation on June 20 at 2:00pm in the Michigan
Library and Historical Center, Forum. A reception will be held at the
State Archives after the presentation.
- E-mail Retention and Filing Guide
Caryn Wojcik distributed a revised draft of the guide that defines
which e-mail messages are records, how long records must be retained, and
who is responsible for filing e-mail. The draft is near completion.
- Future Meetings
Please mark your calendars now for the next Electronic Records
Committee quarterly meeting:
June 18, 2001, 10:00-12:00 p.m.
Michigan Library and Historical Center, Lake Huron room
Attendees: Jim Kinsella, DMB; Dave Johnson, DOS; Caryn Wojcik, DOS;
Doug Case, DMB; Deborah Gouin, DMB; Mimi Dionne, DMB; Matthew Keck, AG;
Tom Fogle, DMB; Steve Baker, Auditor General; Jim Matson, DOS; Terri Edick,
AG; Joe Chin, DMB.
- Organizing Electronic Files Class
The Records and Forms Management Division and the State Archives of
Michigan jointly developed this class over a year ago, and previously
reported about it to the ERC. Lansing Computer Institute (Professional
Technical Development) has been teaching this class for over a year.
In addition, Lori Edwards has been teaching it to DMB employees for
that amount of time. Response has been positive to the class, but
attendance is low. As a result, flyers advertising the class have been
re-distributed across state government. The class is complimentary,
but not directly related to the RMA project.
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)
Caryn Wojcik reported that the State Archives of Michigan has applied
for a second grant from NHPRC to fund a collaborative project with
SDSC to develop a methodology for preserving records that are stored
in the RMA’s repository.
Reagan Moore from the SDSC will be visiting Michigan on June 20-21 to
share information about their research. All ERC members are invited to
attend a presentation on June 20 at 2:00pm in the Michigan Library and
Historical Center, Forum. A reception will be held at the State
Archives after the presentation.
- E-mail Retention
The e-mail guides that were endorsed by the ERC have not been formally
issued. The State Archives has issued a version of these guides for
local governments and they are available on the Internet. The State
Archives has received many inquiries from local government agencies
about e-mail retention issues.
Tom Fogle mentioned that the State may change its e-mail domain name.
Matt Keck provided an overview of a federal court ruling related to
the retention of e-mail. Joe Chin suggested that retention schedules
specifically address how long e-mail needs to be retained both
electronically, and possibly as a paper printout.
Jim Kinsella distributed a survey that the ERC members completed about
their existing practices for managing e-mail. The surveys were
immediately tabulated and the results were discussed. The ERC
responses were compared to the responses received from the same
survey, when it was recently distributed to the staff of the Michigan
Historical Center.
Jim suggested that all state employees should attempt to maintain no
more than 20 messages in their e-mail inbox. Tom suggested that this
may not be practical for all people, depending upon their
responsibilities. Joe stated that his office requires its employees to
respond to all e-mail within 48 hours.
ERC members agreed that management support for consistency in
recordkeeping and better education are the key to resolving e-mail
retention problems. Widespread use of RMA technology was discussed as
a means for implementing record retention for e-mail.
- RMA Pilot Project Status
Jim distributed statistics about the number of retrievals from
ForeMost by pilot users. He also discussed plans to expand the project
into the DMB Director’s Office. In order to receive the endorsement
of Duane Berger for expanding the project, the project team is
measuring business process improvements that are a result of RMA use.
Initial data about these measurements was distributed.
- Future Meetings
Please mark your calendars now for the next Electronic Records
Committee quarterly meeting:
September 18, 2001, 10:00-12:00 p.m.
Michigan Library and Historical Center, Lake Superior room
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