United States Environmental Protection Agency Information Resources Management (PM-211D) Issue Number 2 February 1991 ¦?,EPA INFO ACCESS Records Network Communications A Records Program For the 90s by Michael L. Miller What does it mean to have a records management (RM) program? Is RM no more than a system by which unwanted records are removed from office space? Is the records manager simply the liaison with off site storage facilities? Many would answeryesto both questions. Obviously end user services is one of the main functions of an RM program, but there is much more to it than that. Over the next few months, I will use this space to present my vision of what our Agency's RM program should be. Each issue will address one of the four components of a successful program. This issue will deal with determining what the program should do - its vision and stategic and tactical plans. The second will look at tools - the written policy, procedures, and guidance that are the program's foundation stones. The third will discuss services and communications - what a program actually provides its users, and the fourth, infrastructure - the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to maintain the program. Each area is important to every RM program from the National Program to the branch level. The content of each component may vary, but every viable program includes all four components. To focus an RM program, it is necessary to have a vision, a strategic plan and tactical plans. What follows has been developed for the National Program, but can be adapted to fit other programs as well. The RM vision for the National Program has two basic components: assuring the creation, maintenance, and continued on page 2 INFOACCESS Information Interchange This is the first issue of INFOACCESS devoted to the Records Managers and others with records management responsibilities. In this issue you will find articles about EPA's records man- agement program, Electronic Mail Service, current records projects, the application of records dispositions schedules, and an interview with Marilyn Ryall, EPA Records Management Officer in Region 9. INFOACCESS was created as an outreach mechanism to support and facilitate active communications throughout the EPA Records Network and the larger information management community. continued on page 5 iii-Si: S A Records Program for the 90's pg. 1 INFOACCESS: Information Interchange pg. 1 Marilyn Ryall Interview pg. 2 Electronic Mail: A New Kind of Pony Express pg. 3 ¦ < < • issue ¦ Applying Records Disposition Schedules pg. 5 Congratulations pg. 6 Around the Network pg. 7 Directory of Regional Records Managers pg. 8 Printed on Recycled Paper ------- Records from page! preservation of a full record of Agency activities; and facilitating access to that record. This RM vision reaches out in two directions. It supports the overall 01 RM vision, and incorporates related concepts such as information management, risk assessment planning, information sharing, information security, and public access. Since becoming National Program Manager, I have spent a considerable portion of my time on strategic planning. By strategic planning I mean developing a multiyear agenda to move the RM program closer to its vision. The first step was preparing a baseline assessment of current operations and user needs. A key component of this process is the National Archives and Records Administration evaluation, in which many of you participated. In addition we are amassing our own baseline data through visits to Regional offices, the records management survey, and conversations with records staff across the Agency. What we have learned thus far is that we, at the National Program level, should concentrate our resources in four areas: providing a blueprint programs can use to create or improve their RM programs; updating and expanding the available guidance; increasing the level of communications between Headquarters and the field; and assisting in development of mechanisms by which records managers throughout the Agency can communicate with each other. We are now in the process of addressing those issues in our tactical plans consisting of concrete program initiatives for FY91 and 92. Among the initiatives are the Regional RM program guidance document, revision of the Superfund records schedule and other Regional schedules, plans for completely restructuring and automating the Agency records An Interview with Marilyn Ryall, Region 9 Records Manager Marilyn Ryall, Records Management Officer in Region 9, has worked in the field of records management for about fourteen years, and has been working at EPA since August 1990. She has presented numerous papers and workshops on records topics, and is especially interested in integrating records management with new technology, such as optical disk technology. Mary Hoffman conducted this interview by phone for INFOACCESS. Q What is your background? A Over the years, I have worked for a number of organizations, including the California State Archives, Federal Records Center, City of San Diego, and the American Association for State and Local History. Q How does EPA compare to other organizations you are familiar with? A EPA is more decentralized and democratic in its style of leadership than organizations I've worked for in the past. This is important to recognize as the culture of an organization has a direct impact on records and information practices in any given organization. Hence, a records manager in an EPA Region continued on page 3 schedules, updating of portions of the Agency records manual, multiple new communications links (including INFOACCESS), and plans for a RM Conference to be held in conjunction with the IRM branch chief's meeting in June in Denver. Each of these will be discussed in later issues of INFOACCESS. Some of you will recognize these initiatives because I have raised them with you either by telephone or face- to-face. To the extent possible, they reflect your input about what you need from the National Program. Be assured that the requestsforcomments and suggestions will continue, and we are planning a full program evaluation session for the June meeting. But be forewarned, we are also planning a session in which records managers will be asked to do some strategic planning of their own. A true national RM vision and strategic plan can only be developed by joining together our individual efforts.~ INFOACCESS is produced by the Information Access Branch of the Information Management and Services Division, Washington, DC. Staff Mary Hoffman Meg Schwind Please send your comments and suggestions to: Mary Hoffman Network Coordinator EPA Headquarters Library, PM211A 401 M Street, SW Washington, DC 20460 FTS 475-7762 III EPA30360 INFOACCESS 2 FEBRUARY 1991 ------- One of the best communication tools available to the Records Network, aside from the telephone, is electronic mail. The EPA Electronic Mail (Email) Service is a computer-based message system which allows Agency staff to communicate with each other through their computer terminals. Using this system, it is easy to keep in touch with colleagues and learn about activities and issues throughout the Agency. EPA's employees and affiliates can obtain an Email mailbox by submitting an Email request form. The form can be completed online, or a hardcopy can be obtained from the Email coordinator in your office. To use Email, an individual needs a computer terminal with access to a communications link to the Email computers, either through EPA's private data network, or a commercial data network. For more information about EPA's Email Service, contact Email User Support at FTS 629-7862 or 1-800-334-2405. The National Records Management staff encourages every records manager to request an Email box if he or she does not have one currently. In the near future, Email will be used to facilitate the exchange of information among all records managers, and 'lime critical" information will be disseminated by the National Records Management staff via Email. The Records Management staff will be developing two "clusters," or lists of Email boxes, one for general information which will be directed to all staff, and one for official communications such as changes in regulations and guidelines, which will be directed to the principal site contacts. In order to facilitate more communication between records center staff, Email box numbers will be included in the Directory of Records Managers which appears on the last page of INFOACCESS> may have to deal with a lot of indepen- dent ideas on what should be done with regard to records manage- ment in the Region. Q What are the strengths and weaknesses of EPA's Records Management Program? A One of the chief strengths is the fact that EPA has appointed a single individual who coordinates Regional records management activities. As far as I know, this doesn't happen in most Federal agencies. One of the greatest weaknesses is the inad- equacy of the Records Control Schedule. This makes the success- ful implementation of a day-to-day records management program very difficult. To date, another weakness has been the lack of clear records management directives from Head- quarters on the implementation of Regional records management programs, although I understand this will change in the near future. Finally, Regional programs need additional staff support if they are to be truly successful. Q Do Superfund records present different concerns? A Because of the significant nature of these records, it makes sense to spend the resources in housing such records in "Superfund Records Cen- ters." However, in an organizational and records management sense, the role of this Center is not understood. For example, it is more of an active files area for a specific case-type series - Superfund records. In the true records management sense, it is not a "records center" which is a storage area for inactive files. Failure to perceive the difference here can confuse issues for records managers who are responsible for everything other than Superfund records. Q Are the clients for EPA records different from what you have seen in other record centers? A More than anything, they (EPA employees) share characteristics with those in State and local government, and business as well. First, as they have had no records management training, they fail to recognize the ben- efits of a good records management program in the organization (i.e. it really can save time, space and money). Second, they fail to imple- ment effective files management techniques (i.e. apply filescutoffs, avoid filing duplicative documentation, cre- ate appropriate file labels, create ef- fective or hierarchical filing systems, etc.). Third, they do not appreciate the importance of the Records Retention Schedule to the organization (i.e. it is key to controlling the disposition of massive amounts of paperwork). continued on page 4 FEBRUARY 1991 INFOACCESS ------- EPA National Records Management Conference "A Records Management Agenda for the 90s" The Information Management and Services Division (IMSD) is planning EPA's First National Records Management Conference in Denver, Colorado during the week of June 24, 1991. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new conference in the weeks ahead! For more information, contact Gloris Butler at FTS 245-3639. Interview from page 3 Q What is EPA's Records Manage- ment mission? A The mission of the EPA should be to implement effective records man- agement practices on an Agencywide basis. A component of this mission should be an educational effort. All EPA employees need to be informed of their responsibility to wisely manage information produced by the organization. Q What issues are of most concern to you in your current position? A My greatest concern is the fact that most Regional programs have no more than one person (at best) de- voted to conducting the records man- agement program. On a day-to-day basis, the inadequacy of the schedule presents significant challenges. Be- cause it does not clearly describe ex- isting record series, it conveys the message that it is difficult to use the schedule and that it's difficult to trans- fer records to the Federal Records Centers. Such sentiments can have a long-term negative impact on the de- velopment of Regional records man- agement programs. Q Do you have any contact with other EPA records centers/records managers? A Occasionally I have contact with other EPA records managers. Most recently I spoke with Bette Drury in Atlanta, and we agreed to start exchanging information on records disposition issues via electronic mail. I talked to Mike Miller about this, and he said lhat any other Regional records managers interested in being a part of this group should contact me at FTS 484-1474. Q Would you like to have more con- tact with other EPA records manag- ers? A It would be quite useful to have regular contact with other Regional records management staff. Contact now is sporadic. Q Do you have any contact with records management colleagues in other organizations? A Yes, I am the co-chairperson for the Government Industry Action Com- mittee (IAC) of the ARM A Golden Gate Chapter. This is a group for records managers from Federal, State and lo- cal levels of government. Other col- leagues that I've met through the Golden Gate Chapter have been the basis of my "Bay Area records man- agement network." Q What professional records management organizations offer support? A ARMA, the Association of Records Managers and Administrators is the most useful. Q What are your goals for the Re- gion 9 Records Management pro- gram for FY91? A My goals are to implement a new records management program for Region 9. Specific goals include: reissuing the Records Control Sched- ule, providing records disposition and files improvement seminars, and con- vincing Region9personnelthat records are a resource that needs to be managed wisely. Q What would you like to see the National Records Management staff do in FY91 ? A Communicate with Regional records managers on a regular basis in a uniform way. Communicate with, and obtain feedback from, Regional records managers before developing and finalizing Regional records management guidelines. Q What would you like to see in the newsletter, INFOACCESS? A Articles about the National Records Management Program, pro- files of Regional and Headquarters records management staff, Mike Miller's activities on behalf of Regional records management programs, records management resources, (book reviews, etc.), optical disk technology, specific records management topics such as "how to select a microfilm vendor," and reports on permanent holdings of EPA records nationwide # INFOACCESS 4 FEBRUARY 1991 ------- How's Your Disposition? The core of any records management program is records disposition. For those unfamiliar with the concept, all Federal agencies must obtain permission from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to destroy records. This permission is granted to agencies in the form of records disposition schedules (hereafter referred to as schedules), legally binding agreements signed by NARA and the Agency. Here at EPA, our existing schedules are the product of extensive consultation and review by program units, legal counsel, and top management; all of whom must concur even before the schedules are sent to NARA for approval. Whether you approach disposition as a program manager or staffer who needs to know what to do with records, or as a records manager seeking to respond to a user's question, a clear, comprehensive, and easy to use set of schedules is an absolute necessity. Currently ours do not meet any of these criteria fully. The long-term solution (two to three years) is an overhaul of the entire system, and our plans for revising the schedules will be discussed in the April issue of the INFOACCESS. This article suggests some steps we can take now to use the schedules currently in place most effectively. as a records manager seeking to respond to a user's question, a clear, comprehensive, and easy to use set of schedules is an absolute necessity To make disposition decisions correctly you need four basic tools. The first is NARA's General Records Schedules (GRS), which cover records found in all Federal agencies. Second, are a set of records disposition schedules applicable to youroffice or areaof responsibility. This will include a scheduleforyourspecific office or division (Regional Water Program Records for example), as well as all applicable Agency-wide or Region-wide schedules, such as the schedule for audio-visual records, or program organization records. Third, are the lists of all active schedules, and their range of applicability. These lists indicate which schedules are applicable to your situation, be it Headquarters, Regional oflice, or EPA laboratory. The final tool is the newly issued Interim Index to Agency Records Disposition Schedules which will assist you in navigating through the 26 sched- ules currently in use in the Agency. If you need any of these tools, contact Gloris Butler at FTS 245-3639. First a note of caution. If you are not a trained records manager, don't try to apply the schedules on your own. Contact your records officer (see the back page of continued on page 6 INFOACCESS continued from page 1 These are its specific RM goals: • Serve as an interchange among active EPA records managers. • Communicate records initiatives and achievements to the broader IRM community. • Share technical information with records managers and their staffs. • Provide a forum forthe discussion of records management issues. INFOACCESS is your newsletter. It will respond to your needs and re- quests, and look at the issues which concern you. INFOACCESS needs your input. It is important that you share information on your suc- cesses, problems and needs with your colleagues in the Network. INFOACCESS is a good forum for sharing, for introducing new mem- bers, and for celebrating the ac- complishments of the members. Future records issues of IN FO ACC ESS will be topic-oriented. Possible themes for future issues are records managementtools, ser- vices provided by records manag- ers, records center clients, and or- ganizational support for records management programs. There will be features on records manage- ment technology, profiles of records managers and their projects, reviews of new information resources and fact sheets on specific technical topics. Interested in contributing? Contact Mary Hoffman, Network Coordina- tor, at FTS 475-7762 or at Email box EPA30360/M.Hoffman. ~ Mary Hoffman FEBRUARY 1991 5 INFOACCESS ------- Disposition from page 5 the INFOACCESS for a listing) or call Gloris. In many cases, you will be able to find a disposition authority that clearly cov- ers the records in question in either the GRS or the Agency schedules that apply to your program area. There are two things to remember here. The first concerns applicability. Everyone can apply schedules identified inthe upper right as "Agency-wide." However, Regions cannot apply Headquarters schedules and vice versa. The sec- ond thing to remember is that many of the Agency schedule dispositions were devised years ago. If they do not fit current program needs that should be brought to the attention of the National Program staff so that the problem can be addressed as part of the revision process. What should you do if you can't find the records in the schedules? It may be that the records aren't covered by any disposition authority, or are covered only in a schedule that does not apply to the program in question. However, before deciding that is the case, ask yourself the following three questions. Were these records, or records like them created before 1985? If so, they are probably found somewhere in the schedules. Were the records created as part of a function that was formerly in another office? If so, the records may be scheduled with those of the former office. This is frequently the case for programs that have been regionalized in the past five years. Note that Re- gions can apply regional schedule items across division lines, depending upon who has custody of a given type of records in a particular Region. How- ever, Regions or Laboratories cannot apply Headquarters schedules with- out approval from the National Pro- gram staff. Although the records are not mentioned by name in the schedules, are they possibly covered by one of the many generic items? Examples of generic items include the Office Administration Files item in the Office Management Records schedule, the Management Study Records item in the Organization and Man- agement Records schedule, orthe Program Management File item found in many records schedules. Obviously these generic dispositions need to be applied judiciously, and if you are in doubt you should contact the Network Coordinator If you are still at a loss for the appropriate disposition, the next step is to call for help - either from the National Program Staff or someone else in the records management Network. It may be that the question has been resolved previously, and you can benefit from the earlier decision. Second, it may be that the records are covered in a schedule that you cannot apply. In that case, you shouId discuss the problem with the National Program Staff. Finally, the Agency may not have an approved disposition for the records, in which case the National Program Staff will work with you to prepare a disposition request to have the records scheduled. We at IMSD are taking steps to address these three questions. First, we will be issuing Records Disposition Schedule Clarification Bulletins providing interim guidance on the applicability of schedules to certain records where coverage is ambiguous. Second, we will work with the Federal Records Centers to modify the applicability of schedule items where this is necessary. Finally, we will maintain a log of records that are unscheduled so they can be included in the revised schedules. For these tools to work effectively however, we depend on those in the Network to bring the problems to our attention. If you have any records that fall into one of these categories, please bring them to our attention by contacting Gloris Butler, the Records Management Network Coordinator, at FTS 245-3639. You should also contact Ms . Butler if you have any questions concerning scheduling, orwou Id like copies of the tools mentioned above. By working together we can ensure that everyone in the Agency receives the same level of records management services. ~ Michael L. Miller Congratulations! INFOACCESS would like to recognize records staff for excellent work in the field of records management, whether it is the development of a special product, completion of an significant project or acknowledgement of an Agency award. Region 3 Hats off to the records staff of Region 3. They received the best overall N ARA evaluation of any region that has come to our attention. Region 4 Many thanks to Region 4 for their recently completed inventories. The National Program staff always appreciates copies of such products. If you have any success that you would like to share with the Network, contact Mary Hoffman at FTS 475-7762 or Email EPA 30360. INFOACCESS »vMj FEBRUARY 1991 ------- Around the Network ¦ • > p: This section of INFOACCESS will be used to report on upcoming meetings and projects currently underway in the Regions, laboratories and Headquarters. Anyone with contributions tor this column should contact Mary Hoffman at 475-7762, or at Email box M.HOFFMAN /EPA30360. ~ OSWER/SDMS Work Group Meeting There will be a combined Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Records Management and Superfund Document Management Systems (SDMS) work group meeting in Washington on March 11 -13th, 1991. For more information, contact Michelle Curtis, OSWER, at FTS 475-7951. ~ NARA Evaluation Draft Due The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has indicated that EPA will receive a draft of the NARA evaluation sometime in March. Questions should be referred to Network Coordinator, Gloris Butler. ~ National Program Projects Work continues on three projects overseen by the National Program staff: the Model Regional Records Management Operating Procedures Guidance Document; a guidance document on defining and applying terms such as records, non records,personal papers and working papers; and a revised records schedule for Regional Superfund records. All projects are expected to be completed by the end of April. Drafts will be circulated for comment. For further information call the Network Coordinator, Gloris Butler. ~ Region 4: Records Inventory Bette Drury recently completed inventorying projects forthe Region's Water and Environmental Services Divisions. The products describe the organization, contents, and function of the records, and suggest dispositions whenever possible. The inventories are a good first step toward revised disposition schedules for these programs. For more information contact Bette Drury at FTS 257-2316. ~ Region 5: Cleanup and Classification Louise De Brower worked with staff in the Pesticides andToxic Substances Branch to review their files and file schedules. In addition they conducted a clean-up of the working and reference office files, resulting in the recycling of 1 1/2 tons of paper, disposal of 1 ton of trash, and return of 2 mail carts full of reusable supplies to the Agency. The records staff completed a subject classification of Regional records, that will be used as the basis for a Regional file scheme. They found that most environmental programs are similar enough to be classified by subject. For more information, or for a draft copy of the classification, contact Louise De Brower at FTS 353-1594. ~ Region 8: Microfilming Maps & Aerial Photos There is an interesting project scheduled to begin in February at the Region 8 Superfund Records Center. In order to relieve space problems, the Center is arranging to rt.icrofilm oversize documents such as maps and aerial photographs, an integral part of the Superfund site files. For more information, contact Michael Kenna at FTS 330-1297. A Region 9: Introduction to Records Control Schedules Marilyn Ryall, the Records Management Officer, is preparing Records Control Schedules with a useful and information Introduction in Question and Answer format for Regional staff. In addition she is designing seminars to train the staff on records disposition schedules. For more information, contact Marilyn at FTS 484-1507. ~ RCRA Docket Microfilming Materials The RCRA Docket at HQ initiated a project in December 1990 to microfilm administrative records and closed rulemaking dockets. It has been a slow but necessary process, considering the Docket's space problems. The files will be indexed on RCRADS, the Docket's in-house database. Once this project is complete, the Docket plans to film closed files on an annual basis. For more information, contact Kathy Bruneske at FTS 475-9327. ~ Mary Hoffman FEBRUARY 1991 7 INFOACCESS ------- Directory of EPA Regional Records Managers, 2/91 NAME EMAIL HOlloway, James, Region 1 * US EPA Callahan, Barbara, Region iHeadquarters and Chemical Libraries Janell, Jay, Region 1 Cunha, Evano, Region 1-SF Haslett, Brenda, Region 1-SF Bruno, Pam, Region 1-SF Equo, Carol, Region 2 * Delcimento, Jennie, Region 2-SF Butch, Anna, Region 3 * Leva, Peggy, Region 3-SF Kemp, Rebecca, Region 4 * Drury, Bette, Region 4 Key, Harold, Region 4-SF Love, Tom, Region 4-SF Jourdan, Debbie, Region 4-SF Lofton, Gussie, Region 4-RCRA Calvin, Lynn, Region 5 * De Brower, Louise, Region 5 Pfundheller, Jan, Region 5-SF Yarberry, Nancy, Region 6 * Chambers, Charlene, Region 6-SF Falk, Linda, Region 6-SF Nelson, Pat, Region 6-RCRA Brakeall, Carol, Region 7 * Jones, Patricia, Region 7 Carter, Mary, Region 7 Thierer, Barry, Region 7-SF Rivera, Jackie, Region 8 * Macy, Carol, Region 8-SF Artemis, Tina, Region 8-SF Ryall, Marilyn, Region 9 * Hadlock, Holly, Region 9-SF McAllister, Barbara, Region 10 * Williams, Lynn, Region 10-SF Hughes, Margaret, Region 10-RCRA EPA West Bkfg Room 3340 Maiicode 3404T 1301 Constitution Ave NW Washington DC 20004 202-1 EPA9399 EPA9483 B.Drury EPA3533 N. Yarberry EPA9658 C.Brakeall EPA9799 EPA97039 EPA9872 EPA9835 EPA9870 EPA99223 EPA90004 EPA9065 NOTE: * = Principal Regional Contact; SF= Superfund FTS PHONE 835-3374 835-4905 835-4980 835-1729 835-1729 828-6309 264-1414 264-8676 597-1180 597-3037 257-2316 257-2316 257-5242 257-0506 257-5243 257-0506 353-1481 353-1594 353-5821 255-6540 255-2240 255-6720 255-6750 276-7527 276-7238 276-7350 276-7515 330-1645 330-7038 330-7039 484-1507 484-1448 399-4044 399-2121 399-6687 Please send any changes or corrections to Mary Hoffman at Email box M.HOFFMAN/ EPA30360 or call FTS 475-7762. INFOACCESS FEBRUARY 1991 ------- |