Spring Cleaning - In the Fall As the end of the year approaches, there are many file maintenance activities that can be accomplished which will result in an improved filing system for your office. Briefly stated, these activities are: * Breaking files * Starting files * Retiring files Paying attention to these activities at the end of the year frees up valuable office space and equipment, and simplifies records retirement. * Breaking Files - Break or close files. Close or "cut off" files at the end of the year as instructed in the records disposition schedules. Pull any documents which need to be kept for the next year and place a cross reference sheet with information on where the document has been moved into the closed file. * Starting Files - Start new folders. Prepare new folders for the next year. Place the documents held from the closed files into the new folders. Update file guides or tabs, if needed. Retiring Files - Retire files to inactive storage. Move your closed files to an area designated for inactive files. If files are to be retained in the office for additional time, you can designate a particular set of file drawers or shelves for the "inactive files." If they are to be transferred to either an inactive records storage facility or a Federal Records Center, box them up and prepare the transfer paperwork. For more information you may want to consult the following sources: Records Management Manual. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Information Resources Management, 1984. Updated in 1986 and 1987. Files Operations. National Archives and Records Services, 1981. Using the Federal Records Center: A Guide for Headquarters Staff. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Information Management and Services Division, 1991. A Reminder... This is also a good time to review your technical reference material and to discard obsolete or superseded items. And don't forget about non-paper records - electronic, maps and drawings, etc. All records, regardless of format, are covered by the Agency's disposition schedules and need to be attended to along with their paper companions. National Records Management Program, Information Access Branch Office of Information Resources Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency October 1992 EPA-220-F-92-015 Printed on Recycled Paper ------- |