United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information Resources
Management
(3404)
SEPA INFO ACCESS
EPA 220-N-94-013
Issue Number 48
December 1994
Records Network Communications
How Good Are We?
Conducting Internal Records Management Evaluations
by Michael L. Miller, Agency Records Officer
Page 3
Records Destruction at
Federal Records Centers
In This Issue . . .
Every time you turn around, it seems
someone else is talking about the need
to critically examine how well you are
doing your job. Whether it's service to
the citizen, TQM, continuous
improvement, or even records
management, we need to know
whether what we are doing is on the
mark. That is why, when the National
Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) evaluated EPA's records
management, one of its major
recommendations was that we
undertake a program of internal records
management evaluations. Besides the
fact that it makes sense, a program of
internal evaluations is required under
the Code of Federal Regulations
(36 CFR 1220).
It has been nearly three years since
we received the NARA evaluation
report, and this year the National
Records Management Program
(NRMP) is in a position to begin to
implement the recommendations. This
year's schedule calls for conducting
two Headquarters and two field
evaluations, travel funds permitting.
Goals of the Evaluation
Program
What does the NRMP hope to
accomplish with these evaluations?
There are three main goals:
1)	Make an assessment of where
selected programs are in
implementing the NARA evaluation
recommendations.
2)	Identify and evaluate their successes
and determine how they can be
applied elsewhere.
3)	Identify and evaluate problem areas,
suggest remedies, and determine
how the NRMP can assist in
overcoming obstacles to success.
In short, a records management
evaluation is a way for your program to
find out how it is doing based on
standardized, objective criteria, and
investigate new ways to respond to the
roadblocks you've encountered. An
added bonus is that the NRMP will
certify those NARA recommendations
that can be counted as completed in
your program.
How Good Are We? continued on page 2
Page 3
Records Destruction at
Federal Records Centers
Page 4
Records Management Council News
Page 4
Tip of the Hat
Page 5
Technology Corner
Page 6
Region 6 Grants/Imaging Project
Page 7
Records Management Awarness Bulletin
Page 7
Recycled Paper
and Records Management
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 12
Page 13
Pages 14-15
Electronic Records Documents Available
NARA Issues Optical Disk Bulletins
Ust of Available NARA Pubucations
Attention! and Reminder!
Around the Records Network
News from NARA
Cincinnati Inventories EMSL
Ask Dr. Records
Printed on Recycled Paper

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
How Good Are We? from page 1
How an Evaluation Works
Evaluations arc not long, drawn out,
formal reviews. They consist of a brief
visit (e.g., about two days for a
Regional office) followed up with an
analysis of your program with
suggestions for improvement. The
visit includes discussions with the
records management staff, visits to
program offices, interviews with staff
and records managers, and meetings
with management, if appropriate.
There may also be time to conduct
brief training sessions on particular
topics.
The NRMP uses the 46
recommendations in the NARA
evaluation report and NARA's
"Checklist for Evaluating
Recordkeeping Practices in Your
Office" as the basic tools in conducting
evaluations. In its report, the NRMP
will provide feedback on each NARA
evaluation recommendation so that the
program knows exactly where it stands,
both in absolute terms (e.g., whether it
can consider a recommendation to be
completed) and relative to the
Agency's overall implementation plan.
Evaluation of Region 1 's
Records Program
I had the opportunity to evaluate the
records program in Region 1 in early
December. I'm happy to report that
Region 1 is doing a very good job,
having made considerable progress in
responding to the NARA
recommendations. All-in-all, they are
either on schedule with the Agency's
action plan or ahead of schedule.
Among the strong points:
~	A series of divisional file rooms
where the important program
records are captured and managed.
The file rooms have file plans,
procedures manuals, and automated
indexes and finding aids.
~	A network of divisional records
contacts.
~	Training for Agency staff, and a
program to train records liaisons.
~	An ongoing program to retire
records to the Federal records
center, including records cleanup
days during which records liaisons
and contract support staff assist staff
in applying appropriate dispositions.
Lessons Learned
What Region 1 learned is that they
have the right approach and they are
INFO ACCESS
doing the right things. The next task in
Region 1, as in many programs, is to
export its successful approach to
records management to those branches
or sections that arc not "playing" at this
time. In many cases, that is an ongoing
challenge that will only be overcome
long-term.
The lesson for the NRMP is that
good programs like Region 1 need
assistance in finding ways to "sell"
records management to managers for
whom records management is but one
priority among many. That too is a
difficult challenge, but one we will
work on in 1995.
If you would like more information
about the evaluation process, or if you
are interested in having your Region or
Program evaluated, please contact
Mike Miller, Agency Records Officer,
on (202) 260-5911 or via All-in-One at
MILLER.MICHAEL-OIRM. ~

INFO ACCESS, a forum to provide information and report on progress in
information management across the Agency, is produced by the Information
Access Branch (IAB) of the Information Management and Services
Division (IMSD), Washington, DC, under the direction of
Michael L. Miller, National Records Management Program Manager.
Please send comments and suggestions to: Susan Sallaway (contractor),
Network Coordinator, 3404, EPA National Records Management Program,
401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460. Telephone: 202-260-5272.
Electronic mail: Sallaway.Susan.
2

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Records Destruction at Federal Records Centers
Based on Articles in the Washington National Records Center Newsletter, Summer/Fall 1994. Volume 3, Number 2
Have you received a "Notice of Intent
to Destroy" (NA Form 13001) from the
Federal Records Center (FRC)
recently? Before burying it at the
bottom of your stack of things to do,
remember this—you have 90 days to
tell the FRC if you do not want your
temporary records to be transformed
into toilet paper, pizza boxes, game
boards, and other paper products.
Records stored at the FRC are not
destroyed without your knowledge or
approval. Recycling of records is part
of the FRC quarterly disposal process;
however, a series of quality control
efforts are in place to assure that only
those records approved for destruction
wind up as consumer goods and
packages on the supermarket shelf.
Remember, you told the FRC when
to destroy these records when you sent
the boxes there. Each box you send
has a disposition date assigned based
on the series of records it contains.
You now have to advise FRC within
90 days if you want to change the
original instructions, and keep the
records longer than the normal
retention period.
At the FRC, a "Disposal
Concurrence Report" identifying all
accessions coded as disposable in the
current cycle is generated
approximately 110 days prior to the
disposal date. A "Notice of Intent to
Destroy" (NA Form 13001) is also
prepared for each of the accessions.
Archives Specialists check the report
ior accuracy of disposal authorities and
dates, review each Standard Form 135,
and if required, examine the records.
Upon completion of this review, and
90 days before the disposal date, each
agency that has records scheduled to be
destroyed in the current cycle receives
an "NA Form 13001" to inform them
of the proposed disposal. If your
records shouldn't be recycled into
roofing tiles and cardboard, now is the
time to act. You must contact the FRC
within the 90-day review period to
explain why the records should be kept
beyond their legal retention period.
Some viable reasons for the suspension
of normal destruction include:
~	The records are needed for a
specified court case or subject to
court-ordered retention. That
records "might be required for
possible future litigation" is not a
valid reason for retention; you need
to cite a specific, existing case.
~	The records are required for
administrative histories or for
temporary use of between six
months and one year.
~	You are working with the National
Archives and Records
Administration, Office of Records
Administration, Records Appraisal
and Disposition Division (NIR), to
change the series retention period,
or changes have been approved, but
not yet forwarded to the FRC.
~	You notice that the FRC has
incorrect information about the
records.
The FRC's information says that
your records can be destroyed on the
disposition date, unless you inform
them otherwise. After you receive the
"Notice of Intent to Destroy" form, 90
days should be enough time to contact
your programs, review the records (or
recall them from the FRC to review
them, if necessary), receive responses,
and arrange with the FRC to keep the
records for a longer period of time.
Prior to the disposal month, FRC
internally generates a "Disposal
Approved Report". This report is
carefully reviewed to ensure that any
accessions that were deleted from the
"Disposal Concurrence Report" do not
appear on the "Disposal Approved
Report", and those accessions which
should not be destroyed at that time are
lined out. Reviewers certify in writing
that the report is accurate, and the "pull
list" is generated from this.
As a further quality control measure,
disposable accessions are checked
when the boxes are removed from the
shelves. The disposal team leader
verifies that the correct boxes are
retrieved, marking the boxes and
signing off on the "pull list". Be sure
to review the information of the
"Notice of Intent to Destroy" NA
13001 form. The information should
reflect the same series and description,
accession number, disposition authority
and cubic feet as is on the Standard
Form 135 submitted with the original
transfer.
Records Destruction continued on page 6
3

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Records Management Council News
The October 26, 1994 Records
Management Council meeting led by
Mike Miller of the Information
Management and Services Division
(IMSD) covered a number of important
records management projects. Here are
some highlights of that meeting.
Customer Satisfaction Survey
Mike led a discussion about a National
Records Management Program
(NRMP) customer satisfaction survey.
The November Council meeting will
be used as a feedback session for
participants to indicate what services
they like, the ones they don't like,
where the NRMP priorities should be,
where improvements could be made,
and so forth. Lisa Jenkins (OSWER)
will lead the session, and Kathy Calvo
will act as recorder.
Docket Meeting
Mike reported on the activities of the
Docket work group which met on
October 25. Work group members
agreed to meet on a monthly basis to
deal with issues relating to the dockets.
Some of these issues include planning
for the new building, whether the
dockets should move toward more
uniform services, technology, and if so,
how that can be accomplished. A major
Docket Work Group meeting is
planned for February 9, 1995 to review
current policies and identify areas of
possible coordination among dockets.
Georgianne McDonald (OPTS) gave
a presentation on the customer survey
planned for their docket. They hope to
make it a survey which can be used
again in the future as well as one which
could be used by other dockets.
Training
Council members discussed plans for
records management training at
Headquarters. Harold Webster,
Headquarters Records Officer, plans to
concentrate on training for records
retirement and files management. His
target audience for the records
retirement sessions will be the people
who are tasked to retire records.
Council members also discussed the
possibility of presenting records
management information as part of
new employee orientation sessions.
Members recommended development
of a one-page handout which could be
distributed at the orientation.
OARM Inventory
Vicki Betton (contractor) reported on
the progress of the OARM inventory.
The final report for the OIRM portion
of the inventory is being prepared. A
total of 554 inventory forms for 124
employees were gathered for that
portion of the inventory. The entire
process has taken an estimated five to
eight weeks.
AO Inventory
Hsiu-Mei Hung (AO) reported that
their walk-through inventory had
started. They developed a survey
questionnaire and held a 30 minute
management briefing. The response to
the briefing was very good and more
are planned.
Electronic Records
The National Archives plans to re-issue
regulations on electronic records which
will be a lot briefer than the earlier
version, and will probably follow up
with guidance.
A Federal Register Notice was
issued October 17 revising General
Records Schedules 20 and 23. Items
that covered electronic records which
were included in GRS 23 have been
moved to GRS 20. NARA also
separates security backups of files from
system backups and will require
system backups to be scheduled
separately. Mike outlined the changes
and asked for comments.
Next Records Meeting
The next meeting of the Records
Management Council will be on
January 31, 1994 from 10 a.m to noon.
There will be no December meeting.
Have a wonderful Holiday. ~
Tip of the Hat
We welcome the
following people to
the records
management network:
Ellen Berry, Region 6
George Lawton, NEIG
Mary Ann Starus, Region 5

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Technology Corner
Technology Corner is an ongoing
attempt to provide records managers
with information about how other
programs are utilizing technology to
better manage their records and to
provide needed access to information.
Any mention of trade names, products,
or services does not convey, and
should not be interpreted as conveying,
official EPA approval, endorsement, or
recommendation.
Superfund Document Indexing
System in Region 1
The Superfund Document Indexing
System (SDIS) is a LAN-based
document tracking system developed
by EPA Region I to do the following:
~	Provide an automated index of all
documents relating to specific
Superfund sites.
~	Allow Records Center staff and Site
Team Members detailed query
capabilities for quick access to
documents
~	Track documents marked as
privileged or non-releasable with
justifications for this status
~	Allow generation of standard reports
from compiled document
information.
The system was developed from a
prototype indexing system with limited
functions, which was intended to test
document level indexing as a tool for
managing site files. In SDIS, a
separate index is established for all the
documents at each Superfund site.
Access authorization is limited, in
general, to Site teams and Records
Center staff who will use the index to
identify and retrieve site files.
Region 1 has prepared a "User's
Manual" and a separate set of
"Guidelines" to provide instructions on
document level indexing and issuing
reports with SDIS.
SAVEFILE—A WPO Message
Archival System
If you ever wished you could archive
your WordPerfect Office (WPO)
messages and then easily search
through them to find any messages that
contain a certain keyword—this is for
you. In addition to enhancing your
ability to relocate messages you have
saved, this set of macros may meet
some of the NARA requirements for
retention of Federal records received
via WPO.
There are 4 macros provided on the:
WPO system as follows:
1. SD will save the messages (plus all
of its attachments) that you are
currently viewing. When it has
finished saving the information, it
will delete the messages (plus
attachments) from your mailbox. If
you really didn't mean to have the
message deleted, you can use the
UNDELETE function of WPO to
recover it.
2.	S will save only the message or
attachment that you are currently
viewing. It does not delete the item.
3.	LOOK is a macro that brings up the
file containing your current saved
messages and positions you at the
bottom of the file. Please note that if
you execute this macro from another
subdirectory, the macro will change
you to and leave you in your WPO
subdirectory. You can use
WordPerfect commands to move
around the file. The most useful are
the following:
~	{Arrow Key} moves one line/
column in the direction of the
arrow.
~	{Home} (Home) {Up/Down
Arrow} move to top/bottom of
file.
~	{F2}/{Shift>{F2} Search
forward/backward for string.
~	{Alt} {F4} toggles blocking on/
off
~	{Crtl} {F4} enables capturing
blocked text to clipboard. (From
the clipboard it can be brought
Technology Corner continued on page 11
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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Region 6 Grants/Imaging Project
by Nancy Yarberry, Records Liaison Officer, Region 6
About two years ago, Region 6 started
looking into optical disk (imaging)
technology. After studying the records
populations in the Region, we came up
with several candidates for imaging.
The Region is now processing all
grants electronically. All Grant
Specialists and most Project Officers
have been trained in retrieving images,
and processing an electronic
concurrence. They have PCs that are
image enabled or are on the list for the
incoming PCs that are image capable.
The feedback from the Grants folks is
that productivity has increased.
Following are examples of increased
productivity:
~	Documents that previously took
more than a week to process
(usually an average of two weeks)
are taking an average of 3 days.
~	Grants sends Finance what they
need electronically in just a few
minutes so Finance doesn't have to
wait several days while someone
makes the appropriate copies.
Records Destruction from page 3
If you concur with the disposal
action, rest easy; your work is done.
The FRC will send the records to
recycling facilities where they will be
shredded and pulped for reuse.
Appropriate disposal of records
covered by the Privacy Act or
considered classified material is made
to make sure that no one sees the
contents of the records.
~	Instead of the Project Officer having
to make a trip to visit the Grant
Specialist's desk to answer
questions because the file is with the
Specialist, they both simply pull it
up on their PC screens at the same
time and review it together.
~	Copying is down since the users
have access to the entire file at their
desk through the PC.
~	The Records folks are happy
because they now have a complete
grant file, including the project
officer's files, nice and secure in the
file room and it is seldom used once
it is scanned.
i
While we have had some hard and
sometimes painful lessons learned, we
feel that it was still very much
worthwhile.
Our next project is already off the
drawing board and being examined.
That is the Intellex system which offers
the litigation support needed for our
attorneys. It was installed mid-
Nationwide, 13 Federal Record
Centers recycled disposable records
constituting the paper equivalent of
250,000 trees. So, thank you for
reviewing those "Notice of Intent to
Destroy" forms. You are not only
helping to make room in the FRC for
new records, you are also helping to
save our forests. ~
November and documents are being
scanned even as you read this. Our
third imaging application is our Permit
records. The Permits imaging projects
are broken down by program. The first
will be RCRA. The prototype is
planned for January, we expect that by
February or March, we will have
RCRA up and starting work to bring up
the other permitting programs. We
have started working on the SDMS
project also. We're finding that there
are even more ways that this system
could be beneficial.
It seems that one of the major set
backs with imaging is that we can't get
hardware as fast as we want or need it.
Most of the time its like waiting for
Christmas to get here!! Once hardware
is ordered, it sometimes takes weeks or
months to get here.
We're lucky that we have an
executive staff that appreciate the
technology that is available and are
willing to invest the time, staff and
funds needed to keep the Region up
with the times and improve the
productivity of the work force. We also
have Regional staff that tend to be
willing to work towards improving
their own workflow efficiency by using
whatever technology we can provide.
There will always be a few folks who
believe that anything with a plug at one
end can't be trusted, but, one-by-one,
we have converted even the most
stubborn "paper-believer" over to
automation. ~
6

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Records Management Awareness Bulletin
The Committee on Integrity and
Management Improvement (CIMI) has
issued a new Awareness Bulletin on
the Management and Disposition of
Federal Records (Bulletin 95-1). The
National Records Management
Program (NRMP) suggested the idea of
a new bulletin last Spring as a way of
informing all employees of their
records management responsibilities.
According to the bulletin, EPA
employees have three major records
management responsibilities:
~	Create records sufficient to
document their activities;
~	Maintain official Agency records
separately from personal files and
other nonrecord materials; and
~	Follow the retention and disposition
guidance specified in the records
disposition schedules and the
recordkeeping requirements
documented for your organization
within EPA.
The bulletin goes on to offer
employees some other practical
guidance for managing their records.
~	Employees may not destroy or
remove records except in
accordance with the records
disposition schedules.
~	Employees do not have to retain
records beyond the required time set
forth in the schedules.
~	Managers have an additional
responsibility for adequacy of the
overall documentation of their
programs' activities
~	Extra copies of documents which
employees have drafted, reviewed,
or otherwise acted upon that are
maintained for the employee's
convenience are nonrecord material
under the Federal Records Act.
The bulletin includes additional
information on the following questions;
~	What is a record?
~	What are personal papers?
~	Who is responsible for Agency
records held by contractors?
~	What are the criminal provisions for
unlawful destruction of records?
~	Where can employees go for
additional information?
The bulletin provides a brief,
comprehensive, and easy to understand
summary of what employees need to
know about managing their records.
Only one copy of the bulletin was
printed for every two employees, so it
makes sense to post copies in offices
where everyone can see them. Records
officers and contacts can use the
bulletin as a training tool to increase
staff awareness of records management
issues. Additional copies of the
bulletin are available from the NRMP
by calling 202-260-5272. ~
Recycled Paper and Records Management
As soon as the new 100% recycled paper began
appearing, the National Records Management Program
(NRMP) began to get calls. Was this paper OK? Would it
fall apart quickly? The NRMP's concern was fueled by
stories from records managers from other agencies who
were wrestling with the same problem. So what's the
story. Mike Miller Agency Records Officer, checked with
the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) to see if there was any information about the
long-term qualities of the 100 percent recycled paper.
Nancy Curtain, the NARA staff person responsible for
this issue, said that indeed there was a study of recycled
papers that rated paper by brand. The title of the study is
North American Permanent Paper 1994. The good news
is that the paper currently being used widely at
Headquarters (Hammermill Unity DP) is not only one of
the best choices environmentally (100 percent recycled,
50 percent post consumer), it is also a good choice for
preservation as well. It is listed as an alkaline paper with
very good preservation capabilities.
If you have questions about a particular brand of
recycled paper, you may call Nancy Curtain at
(301) 713-6677, ext. 270. Be sure you have the name of
the manufacturer and the name of the paper itself.
D

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Around The Records Network
Region 9 Superfund—Preparing for a Paperless Office
The Records Center staff has begun to develop new records
management procedures in response to the Superfund Document
Management System (SDMS) imaging test pilot currently
underway in the Region. The current system is based on filing
paper records on high density mobile shelving using a complex
color-coded file folder system. Each document is numbered and
indexed, then bar coded for circulation control using records
management software.
With SDMS, documents will still be individually numbered
and indexed, but the paper will no longer be filed in the Records
Center. Multiple users will simultaneously be able to search for
and access each document's image on their PCs. Therefore,
there is no longer a need for maintaining the color-coded paper
system.
The paper records will be organized by EPA series number
and sorted into FRC boxes immediately after scanning and
indexing. Developing these new procedures artd systems
workflow, including the staffing required for sorting,
preparation, scanning, indexing, QA, and FRC preparation,
means the Records Center will completely re-engineer it's
current system during the upcoming year. In fact, for at least a
year or two, they will run the two records management systems
concurrently as they transition to the imaging system.
Meanwhile, the challenge will be to learn to rely on finding
information online rather than on a piece of paper in a file
folder.
Disaster Averted in Region 9
Since 1989, the Superfund program in Region 9 used a
facility at the Treasure Island Naval Base for temporary storage
of certain inactive, duplicate, or contract close-out records. In
July a team of temporary contract staff began the work of
sorting, organizing, and removing records from the facility for
shipment to the FRC in San Bruno. The project was completed
on schedule at the end of September. Three days later the Bay
area was hit by an unseasonably heavy rainstorm. For the first
time in the five year period the records had been stored there, the
building flooded. While planning and hard work contributed to
the success of this project, a great deal of luck was on their side
as well!
Idaho Operations Office Inventory
Region 10 recently completed an inventory of
records maintained by the Idaho Operations Office.
Twelve people were interviewed and approximately
1,000 linear feet of files were inventoried. Part of the
process included separating records from non-records
and technical reference material and matching records
to records series identified in the records disposition
schedules. Draft file plans have been developed and
sent to the Operations Office for comments.
"Rifle Range" Project
The Toxic Substances program recently completed
a cleanup of the "Rifle Range" space at Headquarters.
The project was completed at the end of September
with 1,747 files processed and 178 boxes sent to the
Federal Records Center (FRC). TSCA Section 8(e)
and FYI (For Your Information files) for the years
1977 to 1991 from the Chemical Screening and Risk
Assessment Division (CSRD) were organized
according to established criteria and prepared for
transfer to the FRC. File organization procedures
included verifying that certain documents were
included, noting missing documents, making folder
labels consistent and correct, and taping post-it notes
to documents.
Records Management in Region 2
As Region 2 prepares for its move to its new
building, records management activities are picking
up. To assist programs in records retirement, Region
2 has put the records schedules up on the local area
network and is meeting with individual programs to
explain the process for retiring records. Both the
Superfund and RCRA programs have made solid
advances in improving their case files. Once the
move is completed, the Region will face a second
formidable challenge: how to use their new file rooms
efficiently and effectively.
8

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Ask Dr. Records
This month Dr. Records received a
number of questions about what, if
anything, records managers should tell
those outside of the Agency about
records retention.
a
Does the National Records
Management Program (NRMP) set
retention periods for records created
and maintained by those outside the
Agency, e.g., members of the
regulated community?
J
No. It's nice to have a clear,
definitive answer once in a (long)
while. Retentions for records
created and maintained by the
regulated community are set by the
EPA program mandating that the
records be kept. The retentions are
listed in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR). In most cases,
the retention is three years. Using
the three year retention as an
example, EPA requires that the
regulated entity keep the records for
three years. It does NOT require
that the regulated entity destroy the
records after three years. The
determination of the total retention
of the documents is the
responsibility of the regulated entity.
A complete list of retention
requirements in the CFR is
published by the Office of the
Federal Register (NARA). The title
of the publication is Record
Retention Requirements. Copies
can be obtained from the
Government Printing Office for
$20.00 each.
a
Can the regulated community keep
its information electronically, or
must it keep hard copy?
J
Generally speaking, whether an
electronic copy is sufficient
documentation in lieu of a paper
copy is a question for legal counsel,
not records managers. In the case of
the regulated community, there are
at least four questions they need to
ask before they transition to a purely
electronic recordkeeping system:
1)	Is there anything in the regulation
itself that speaks to the issue one
way or another, or which poses
special problems, such as a
requirement for a "signed original"?
2)	Has the program issuing the
requirement made any statements
outside of the regulation as to what
constitutes sufficient
documentation?
3)	Has the regulated entity's
computer system manager
determined whether the computer
system used to maintain the records
meets the general requirements for
legal admissibility?
4) If the records are subject to
litigation, have the courts made any
determination about the specific
legal admissibility of such records?
a
How long are we required to keep
backups for e-mail?
Unlike the first question, there is no
clear answer to this right now,
although there will be one in 1995.
The National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) considers
the backups we do for e-mail (as
well as the backups for LANs, the
Agency mainframe computers, etc.)
to be "system" backups for which
they set no retention. To date, the
Agency has not set an Agency-wide
retention policy, and practices vary.
The National Data Processing
Division retains the All-in-One
backups for 90 days, which is
consistent with its overall operating
policies. Lacking an Agency-wide
policy, Local Area Network (LAN)
managers have used various
retention schedules to meet varying
needs. Regions 1 and 4 have
offered to assist the NRMP in
developing an Agency-wide
disposition schedule for backups,
Ask Dr. Recordt continued on page 10
9

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Cincinnati Inventories EMSL
by Sue Mercurio, Cincinnati Records Liaison Officer
Ask Dr. Records from page 9
which will be circulated for
comment and approval.
Q.
Records disposition schedules
• 249A—Artwork and Camera Ready
Copy says that we should transfer
original drawings and photographs
used to produce publications and
promotional items to NCEPI for
retention. Who should they be sent
to?
&
Artwork and camera ready copies
should be sent to:
Earl Eastwood
NCEPI
Building 5
11029 Kenwood Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45242
A copy of the inventory of what
you're sending should also be made
and sent to him at:
NCEPI
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Send camera-ready copies only if
they are active or recent and/or need
to be retrieved in the future for re-
publication.
Records personnel from the Andrew
W. Breidenbach Environmental
Research Center (AWBERC)
conducted a walk-through inventory of
the Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory (EMSL), the first reported
attempt to systematically inventory the
records of an Office of Research and
Development laboratory. The findings
will be of interest to anyone planning
their walk-through.
The walk-through of the EMSL at
Cincinnati was conducted during
August and September, 1994. EMSL
has a total of 119 staff, and the walk-
through took about 72 hours. On
average, each person had
approximately 24 linear feet of record
and non record material (for a total of
nearly 3,000 feet for EMSL as a
whole). Of that, 37 percent was
scientific reference material and
3 percent qualified as personal files.
The 24 linear feet average is
comparable with preliminary statistics
from Headquarters inventories.
Preliminary analysis indicates that
approximately 50 percent of the
volume could be destroyed, stored in
Cincinnati's roof storage area, or sent
to the Federal records center.
Based on the walk-through,
Cincinnati developed a timeline for
conducting a detailed inventory in FY
95. It is estimated that the process will
take approximately 740 hours or
roughly a third of a staff year. This
estimate includes conducting staff
training, interviewing selected staff,
and inventorying both electronic and
paper records. The timetable calls for
completion during the third quarter of
FY 95.
During October, Cincinnati also
held its second annual Records
Awareness Week. The focus of this
year's event and training session was
management of scientific records.
Training included presentation of file
plans and information on the
management of contract records. One
too) the records staff provided to the
scientists was a "cheat sheet" that listed
the titles of the most commonly found
scientific records series, the EPA series
number, the National Archives
approval number, and the retention.
The adaptation of the records schedules
to local needs is a practice that the
National Records Management
Program heartily endorses.
For more information about the
EMSL inventory you should contact
Suzanne Mercurio, OARM/IMSD at
(513) 569-7751 or MERCURIO.SUE
on AU-in-One. ~
10

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Electronic Records Documents Available
Record Status of Electronic Images
The following paragraph is quoted from a General
Accounting Office (GAO) letter of November 10, 1994,
to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
"GAO has long recognized that agency records are not
required to be maintained in their original paper-based
form. For example, we have found microfilm and similar
technologies to be acceptable methods for storing the data
on paper document. In a 1991 Comptroller General
decision, 71 Comp. Gen 109 (1991), which addressed
whether government contracts stored electronically rather
than on paper satisfied a statutory requirement that a
contract be "in writing", we stated that technology that
allows the data "to be examined in human readable form,
as on a monitor, stored on electronic media, recalled from
storage and reviewed in human readable form," can
provide data integrity that is equal to that of a paper
document. We also noted that although electronic
documents are stored in a different manner than paper
documents, they ultimately take the form of visual
symbols. As stated in that decision, "it is sensible to
interpret federal law in a manner to accommodate
technological advancements unless the law by its own
terms expressly precludes such an interpretation, or sound
public policy reasons exist to do otherwise. We are not
aware of any law or public policy that generally requires
financial records such as yours to be retained in paper
form."
Copies of this document can be obtained by calling the
National Records Management Program at
(202)260-5272.
Technology Corner from page 5
into a WPO message or into a
WP document).
4. LOOKOLD functions similarly to
LOOK except that it looks at
SAVEFILE.OLD, your previous
SAVEFILE, if you observe the file
renaming instructions given below.
In order to execute the save macros,
you should be viewing the message
(which can be in either your in box or
your out box). Press {Alt} {Shift}
(F10} and type in the name of the
macro (SD, S, LOOK, or LOOKOLD)
you want to execute. NOTE: In order
to assure execution of the system
macros, you should not have files
named S.SHM, SD.SHM,
LOOK.SHM, or LOOKOLD.SHM in
your F:\USER\YOURLANID\WPO
directory as WPO will look in your
WPO directory for the requested
macro first.
All of the messages you elect to
save will be appended to F:\USER\
YOURLANID\WPO\SAVEFILE.
Occasionally, when the size of your
SAVEFILE nears 1M in size, you
should archive any previously existing
SAVEFILE.OLD to floppy disk, then
rename SAVEFILE as
SAVEFILE.OLD. You must rename
SAVEFILE in order to prevent it from,
growing to a size that cannot be copied
onto a floppy disk for archiving. Once
archived to a floppy disk, old
SAVEFTLES may be examined using
the WordPerfect Look function (avoid
the Retrieve function due to the time
required to load the file). After renaming
SAVEFILE, you do not need to recreate
it, SD will automatically do so whenever
SAVEFILE does not exist. The user can
easily customize this application.
~ One might want to file messages in
different savefiles (by subject). This
would be accomplished by making
copies of SD.SHM and editing them
to change SAVEFILE to a different
filename. However, consider that you
would have to search for messages in
multiple files rather than in just one
savefile.
For further information about these
macros, contact Gus Parlier of Region
10. He can be reached at (206) 553-2988
or Dmail: Parlier.Gus. ~
11

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
News From NARA
Nara Report on Imaging and
Optical Storage
A new report, "Digital-Imaging and
Optical Digital Data Disk Storage
Systems: Long-Term Access Strategies
for Federal Agencies," is currently
available from NARA. The report is
based on a NARA review of fifteen
Federal imaging and optical digital data
disk storage applications, including one
from EPA, and interviews with a
number of experts in the field. The
report discusses critical management
issues relative to technological
developments, data migration, and
ensuring long-term access to
information. Agency officials
responsible for records with long-term
value should find this report's
recommendations useful in designing
and implementing digital imaging and
optical disk storage systems.
The report is also available
electronically on Internet. It can be
found on the NARA Internet Gopher
server at gopher.nara.gov under the
menus "Information for Archivists and
Records Managers," "Archival
Information," "Technical Information
Papers," and "Postscript Copies of
Various TIPs" (choose TIP 12 for
WordPerfect copy). It is also available
on the NARA ftp site in the directory at
the following URL: ftp://ftp.nara.gov/
pub/technical_information_papers/. We
recommend downloading about
10 to 20 pages at a time, as there are
many graphics.
If you have questions concerning the
report, contact Barry Roginski at
NARA on 301-713-6730, ext.263, or
John Radel at John.Radel @Arch.II.
NARA.GOV.
Revised Form and New Address
for NARA Records
Management Publications
Effective immediately, the new address
for ordering NARA records
management publications is:
National Archives, Attn: Publications
Department, NECD, Room G-9, 7th &
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Washington. DC 20408 (1-800-234-
8X61). The Capital Heights, MD,
location has closed.
A copy of the revised Records
Management Publications Order Form
reflecting this new address and the
Attention!
A revision of the Agency-wide
Contacts List is being developed
for the February InfoAccess.
Please review your current lists
and fax any changes either to
Sandy York (LAI) in Denver at
(303) 840-0489 (her D-mail is
YORK.SANDY), or to Susan
Sallaway (LAI) at EPA
Headquarters at (202) 260-5153,
(her D-mail is SALLAWAY.
SUSAN).
current list of available NARA
Publication is found on pages 14 and
15. The form may be reproduced for
your use. There is no charge for
publications.
Requests for 5 or more copies
should continue to be addressed to the
Office of Records Administration (NI),
National Archives at College Park,
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park,
MD, 20740-6001, (301) 713-6850.
If you have any questions, please
call Mike Anderson at NARA at
(301) 713-6677, ext. 258.
Attention Subscribers
"RECORDFACTS UPDATE" is
also available via the Internet on the
NARA Gopher at Gopher://GOPHER.
NARA.GOV/. ~
Reminder!
A heads-up on the NARA
evaluation updates. A data call for
the NARA evaluation records
managment action plans was sent
out in mid-December. It was
requested in a new format this time.
A questionnaire will address
specific issues, such as staffing and
program status, and a short list of
major records management
activities over the past six months
should be attached. We hope that
this will allow for easier and more
consistent reporting.
12

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Nara Issues Optical Disk Bulletins
This article was reprinted from the NARA publication, "RECORDFACTS UPDATE", Volume 8, Number 3, Fall 1994
On July 20, 1994, the National
Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) issued two policy bulletins
concerning the use of optical disk
systems and Federal records. NARA
policy on the use of optical disk,
systems focuses on applications
involving permanent records which
will be transferred to the National
Archives. Responsibility for the
integrity of temporary records, in
whatever format an agency chooses to
use for conducting business, is in the
hands of each agency. NARA Bulletin
94-5, Use of optical disk systems to
store Federal records addresses
distinctions between requirements for
temporary records and permanent
records proposed for transfer to the
National Archives. NARA Bulletin
94-4, Use of Compact Disc-Read Only
Memory (CD-ROM) medium to
transfer records to the National
Archives, specifies criteria by which
permanent records may be transferred
to the National Archives in CD-ROM
format. In general, the Archive will
accept delimited ASCII text files which
are stored on the media. More specific
information is contained in the
Bulletins.
Prior to the issuance of Bulletin 94-
4, NARA accepted electronic records
for transfer and accessioning into the
National Archives of the United States
only on one-half inch, seven or nine
track reel-to-reel magnetic tape and
3480 class tape cartridges, as defined
in 36CFR 1228.188. Concerns for
long-term data migration has
In the February Issue:
Interview about the OSWER File Plans, Manuals, and Impumentaiton
Electronic Filing
Implementing File Plans in Regions 1 and 4
Comprehensive Regional File Plan Listing
Records Managment—Issues/Impucations addressed
in the Republican Party's "Contract with America"
compelled NARA to restrict its
accessioning policy for optical disks at
this time to very specific formats.
However, this does not mean that
NARA will retain these limitations in
the future. An anticipated benefit of
NARA Bulletin 94-4 is increased
intertaction between, NARA, Federal
agencies and the optical disk
technological community. As stated in
the Bulletin, "NARA will continue to
evaluate criteria for accessioning
permanent records on CD-ROM to
determine how the criteria may be
expanded or otherwise revised. NARA
may take exceptions to this limited
accessioning policy on a case-by-case
basis before revising the policy in a
future NARA bulletin."
Copies of the bulletins may be
obtained from the Office of Records
Administration (301-713-6677) and
can also be found on the Internet at the
NARA gopher (GOPHER://
GOPHER.NARA.GOV/). ~
13

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Office of Records Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
PUBLICATION
These publications are available from the National Archives, Attn: Publications Department, NECD, Room G-9,7th
& Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20408 (1-800-234-8861). There is no charge, but quantities may be
limited. If you want more than 5 copies of any publication, please address your request to the Office of
Records Administration (NI), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD,
20740-6001 (FAX 301-713-6850).
~	General Records Schedules. These schedules establish retention periods and provide disposition authorization
for records common to several or all agencies of the Federal Government. 1988 edition, with updates.
Q A Federal Records Management Glossary. Provides definitions for terms frequently used by records and
information managers. 1993 edition.
Q RECORDFACTS. Summarizes basic recordkeeping responsibilities and lists sources of further information.
1986 edition.
Q Your Records and the National Archives and Records Administration. Discusses the differences between
storing records in a Federal records center and transferring them to the National Archives' legal custody. 1992
edition.
Q Records Management and the Law. Reviews the records management responsibilities that various laws assign
to Federal agencies, including oversight agencies. 1988 edition.
Q Checklist for Evaluating Recordkeeping Practices in Your Office. Questions and general guidance to assist
office staff in evaluating their recordkeeping. 1991 edition.
Q Evaluating Files Maintenance and Records Disposition Programs. A self-inspection guide for Federal
agencies. 1988 edition.
Q Records Administration Training. Describes courses and training services offered by NARA's Office of
Records Administration, along with related training sponsored by other NARA offices. FY 1994 edition.
Records Management Handbooks
Q Disposition of Federal Records. Explains how to develop, implement, and evaluate records disposition
programs in Federal agencies. Includes the texts of Federal laws and regulations affecting records disposition.
1992 edition.
~	Files Operations. Explains how to arrange and maintain records effectively and efficiently. Includes guidelines
for files operations, rules and captions for alphabetic filing, and a glossary of files terms. 1981 edition.
Q Case Filing. Provides procedures and guidelines for managing case files. Describes how to plan their creation,
maintenance, and disposition. Also discusses how to select related equipment and supplies. 1983 edition.
Q Subject Filing. Explains how to arrange general correspondence and related records. Includes a model subject
file classification system for administrative records common to most Federal agencies. 1981 edition.
Q File Stations. Explains how to establish and manage a coordinated network of file stations to ensure better
documentation and aid in records retrieval. 1980 edition.
Q Files Equipment and Supplies. Provides guidance in the selection and management of equipment and supplies
appropriate for use in filing and retrieving textual and nontextual records. 1981 edition.
Newsletter
~	Recordsfacts Update. Issued quarterly, this newsletter features reports on records management activities of
NARA and other Federal agencies, a calendar of events, helpful hints, and other features.
14

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INFO ACCESS ¦ DECEMBER 1994
Instructional and Management Guides
Directed to Federal agencies, the guides emphasize identifying and managing permanent records which are to be
transferred to the National Archives. They discuss such topics as creating adequate and proper documentation of
agency activities, setting up filing and retrieval systems, and ensuring suitable storage conditions.
Q	Managing Electronic Records. 1990 edition.
Q Managing Audiovisual Records. 1989 edition.
[_) Managing Cartographic and Architectural Records. 1990 edition.
Q	Managing the Records of Temporary Commissions. 1989 edition.
~	Personal Papers of Executive Branch Officials: A Management Guide. 1992 edition.
Posters All posters, except #1 & #4, are available in both large (17" x 22") and small (8.5" x 11") sizes.
lg sm
~	1. Our Records/Your Responsibilities. Outlines basic recordkeeping responsibilities of employees.
(9" x 16" only)
~	~ 2. The Written Word Endures. Stresses the importance of documenting meetings, telephone calls, and
electronic mail communications.
~	~ 3. In 200 Years, Will People Remember...? Reminds employees that the records they use today may be
tomorrow's historical documents.
~	4. The National Archives—Entrusted With the Record of Our Nation's Government. Illustrates various
types and sources of records at the National Archives. (17" x 22" only)
~	~ 5. You Can't Take It With You. Reminds departing officials not to remove Federal records.
~	~ 6. Don't Kill Your Reputation; Organize Your Information. Reminds employees that organized records
help agencies provide good service.
~	~ 7. " Cut Off" Your Files—Before They Cut You Off. Points out the need to make chronological divisions
in subject and case files.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please call 301-713-6677, Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, eastern time.
PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY
Please check the box next to each
publication you wish to order,
and print your name and address
on this handy form. Please print
clearly. This will be used as your
mailing label.
Name
Title (if any)
Agency (include parent agency, if any)
Address
City
State
Zip Code
Phone number (optional)
(REV. 10*94)
15

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