Records Management

Interagency Coordinating Council

Biennial Report 1997- 1998

Records Management

Interagency Coordinating Council

Biennial Report 1997-1998

Council Members and Delegates

Chair, Teresa Morales, Records Management Officer Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts

representing the Comptroller of Public Accounts

Sandra L. Coaxum, Chief, Open Records Division Office of the Attorney General representing the Attorney General

Carolyn Purcell, Executive Director Department of Information Resources

representing the Executive Director, Department of Information Resources

Hadassah Schloss, Open Records Administrator General Services Commission

representing the Executive Director, General Services Commission

Dan Procter, Texas Register Director Office of the Secretary of State representing the Secretary of State

Vandita Mehta-Zachariah, Supervising Assistant State Auditor State Auditor 's Office

representing the State Auditor, who serves as a non-voting member

RobertS. Martin, Director and Librarian Texas State Library and Archives Commission

representing the Texas State Library and Archives Commission

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I. BACKGROUND ..... ..... ..... .. ...... .. ... ..................................................... .. 1

ESTABLISHMENT .............. ...................................... ..................... .. .......... .... ... 1

MISSION STATEMENT ............................ ......................................................... 1

PART II: Senate Bill 897 , Blue Pages ....................................... ........ ............... 2

PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................... 2

FINDINGS (fiscal impact) .................................................................................. 2

RECOMMENDATIONS ........... ........................ .. .... ............................................ 3

PART Ill: Senate Bill 897, Electronic Records Research Committee ............... 3

PROJECT BACKGROUND ............... .......................... ......... ............. ................ 3

RECOMMENDATIONS .. ................. ... ... .. .......................................................... 4

FINDINGS (fiscal impact) .... ...... .. ....... .......................................... ..................... 6

Appendices: Blue Pages Subject Matter Listings Electronic Records Research Report

Records Management Interagency

Coordinating Council

Biennial Report, 1997-1998

Part I. Background

Establishment The Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council (R.t\1ICC) was established by Senate Bill 366 of the 74th Legislature . It replaced the State Library and Archives Commission's Records Management and Preservation Advisory Committee, which was abolished by the same act. During the 75th Legislative session, the R.t\1ICCs responsibilities were expanded to implement Senate Bill 897. The Council is composed of the following officers or the officer's designee :

1 the Secretary of State;

2 the State Auditor,who serves as a nonvoting member;

3 the Comptroller of Public Accounts;

4 the Attorney General;

5 the Director and Librarian, State Library and Archives Commission;

6 the Executive Director, General Services Commission; and

7 the Executive Director, Department of Information Services.

The Council is charged to: 1 review the activities of each member agency that affect the state 's management of

records ; 2 study other records management issues; and 3 report its findings and any recommended legislation to the governor and the legislature . 4 Implement Senate Bill 897 (Sections 1-3 concerning telephone directory blue pages;

Section 4 concerning the Electronic Records Research Committee).

The Council is empowered to adopt administrative rules that coordinate the activities of each member agency and that make other improvements in the state 's management of records .

Mission Statement: The RM ICC coordinates the management of government records by:

• Informing the legislature on records management issues and making recommendations to improve records management processes and accountability;

• Facilitating the transition from paper to electronic records; and • Developing consistent records management in state agencies .

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Part II: Senate Bill 897/Biue Pages

Senate Bill897, Section 1 through 3, enacted by the 75th Legislature (1997), required the R.t\1ICC, in conjunction with the General Services Commission, to implement a telephone listing by subject matter in addition to the present "Blue Page., telephone listing. This listing is to be clearly identified, and must be located or clearly referenced at the front of the directory before the main listing of residential and business telephone listings.

Project Background The Blue Pages Committee 's first meeting was held on January 22, 1998, at the General Services Building, in Austin. At this meeting it was agreed that efforts should be focused in areas where the committee could make the biggest impact within the scheduled time frame .

The committee had previous information that estimated that 13 of the telephone directories published by Southwestern Bell include blue page listings , and those 13 directories serve approximately 80% of the state 's population. In order to gather as much information as possible in the least amount of time , subcommittees were formed. The subcommittees focused on the following three areas:

• Telephone Companies: Surveyed telephone companies in Texas to determine cost, print dates , format and software used.

• Genera/information and 7-800/888 Telephone Operators: Surveyed operators of state agencies to determine current practices , existing problems, and frequently asked questions. Operators ' input was also solicited to assist the committee in achieving its legislative mandate . This subcommittee also surveyed those persons who are in charge of 1-800/888 numbers assigned to state agencies. In connection with both Operators ' surveys, this subcommittee also focused on the development of formats and criteria for compatibility of data entry. These criteria would be used for submission of subject matter listings.

• Federal Government Directories: Researched existing efforts by the Federal Government to improve directory listings, and analyzed the information for possible implementation by the state Blue Pages Committee.

Fiscal Impact for Senate Bill 897, Sections 1-3

Agencies are not charged for a listing in their home-base city. However, there is an existing average charge of $1.45 per line , per city,per month for listings in other cities. Example: An agency lists 10 lines in 30 cities, including its home-base city. The annual charges would be : 10 x $1.45/line x 29 cities x 12 months= $5,046 .00

Recommendations • Create a major call center for the general public to access any services that agencies may

provide. For instance, a person could call 1-800-TX-STATE and reach a call center that would direct their call to the agency that provides the service or information needed.

• Appropriate funds , separate and independent of other appropriations , to pay for agencies ' listing of services. This would allow agencies to list their services without utilizing funds that are needed for other operating needs.

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• Notify all telephone companies responsible for blue page listings to follow the legislative mandate for their geographical area . This would ensure that blue page listings by subject matter are solicited at the same time as the regular blue page changes.

Part Ill. Senate Bill 897/Eiectronic Records Research Committee

Senate Bill897, Section 4, enacted by the 75th Legislature requires the R.t\1ICC to form a research group to study the challenges introduced by digital formats to the management of state records and to public access to state government information. The committee will study:

The functional requirements for keeping and archiving records in an electronic format ; • Possible cost-effective guidelines for using records in an electronic format; • A possible policy for state government 's archiving of records in an electronic format; • Possible standards and policies for formatting information in an electronic format; • Feasible ways to develop a searchable database that contains state agency documents in an

electronic form.

Project Background In September 1997, R.t\1ICC established the Electronic Records Research Committee (ERRC) to conduct research into the five charges given above . Co-chairs were named from the Department of Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Four focus groups, chaired by ERRC members, held semi-monthly meetings and reported findings to the main committee at monthly meetings. An electronic list and a Web site were established to foster communication among the members .

After researching and discussing the issues, the ERRC decided to present its findings and make its recommendations in three broad categories that encompass the five charges presented by the Legislature . Recommendations are presented for managing records in digital formats , adopting functional requirements for managing records in digital formats, making agency information available to the public in digital formats and resources needed to continue operations.

Recommendations Managing Electronic Records • The Department of Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archives Commis

sion should establish administrative procedures and training to ensure that records management staff, archives and information systems staff work together to identify and manage electronic records to meet retention and archival preservation requirements .

A. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the Department of Information Resources should review and amend current rules in conjunction with one another to assure that records managers , archivists and information resource managers work together and share responsibility for managing records in electronic formats .

B. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the Department of Information Resources should jointly provide training for records management, archives and informa-

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tion technology staff to ensure adequate knowledge and skill levels to manage records in electronic format .

C. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission should evaluate the need for basic statutory requirements for Records Management Officers similar to those established by the Department of Information Resources for Information resources Managers .

D. Existing state standards should be enforced through the use of audits , education outreach, and consultation.

• The Texas State Library and Archives Commission should amend its rules for managing electronic records to make these standards applicable to all state records maintained in electronic format.

A. Amend the Texas State Library Electronic Records Standards and Procedures to be applicable to all electronic records, not just to records with archival value or a retention value of ten years or more .

B. Remove the option from the Electronic Records Standards and Procedures that allows a paper copy to be maintained as the record copy instead of an electronic copy.

C. Ensure that data and record retention requirements are implemented in all new information systems and networks developed or acquired.

D. Develop useful tools for electronic record keeping when an automated electronic records system is not in place.

E. Place the responsibility for identifying document function on the creator of the record.

• The Texas State Library and Archives Commission should seek a legislative change in the Local Government Records Act so that the rules for managing electronic records can be amended to make these standards applicable to all local government records maintained in the electronic format.

B. Functional Requirements in Electronic Format

• The Department of Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission should jointly establish and publish guidelines for using standard functional requirements for electronic record keeping systems.

A. The Department of Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission should review the functional requirements for managing electronic records developed by the Functional Requirements Focus Group, seek input from agencies and the public, and publish model guidelines for functional requirements for managing electronic records .

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B. The Department of Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archive Commission should establish partnerships with the information technology vendor community.

• The complex issues of retaining electronic records of enduring value for historical and research purposes should be given further study to identify available options and associated costs with the intent of proposing action to the 77th Legislative Session.

C. Making Documents Readily Available

• The General Services Commission should develop cost models for providing information to the public on-line .

A. Cost models for developing recovery mechanisms for unfunded mandates and for providing enhanced access to government information should be investigated.

B. The statewide telecommunications infrastructure should provide cost-effective, centralized network access to all agencies , schools , and universities .

C. The General Services Commission should study the true costs of developing and maintaining web sites for the distribution of government information.

• The Department of Information Resources, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and the Office of the Attorney General should jointly establish guidelines for providing and managing access to publicly available government information without compromising the privacy of citizens.

A. The Department of Information Resources, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and the Office of the Attorney General should jointly develop rules and guidelines for identifying and protecting information in electronic media that could compromise an individual's privacy.

B. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission should continue developing its standardsbased electronic index to all state information and services in order to facilitate document retrieval.

C. The Department of Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission should continue to review and develop guidelines for developing and managing web-based records .

D. State agencies and universities should adhere to the plan outlined in the Texas Government .'>trategic Plan for Telecommunications Services to establish a statewide telecommunications infrastructure .

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Fiscal Impact for Continuing Operations and Studies

• The agencies charged with specific responsibilities outlined above , including the Department of Information Resources , the State Library and Archives Commission, and the General Services Commission, will need additional staff resources in order to carry out the extensive recommendations of this report . The agencies should communicate to the Legislature their specific needs to carry out these recommendations. The Legislature should take these needs into consideration in enacting appropriations for the coming Biennium.

• The Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council should facilitate an ongoing examination of the critical issues of using, managing, retrieving, and protecting electronic records and seek funding sources to allow staff to focus full-time on the study.

A. Because the Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council was established as an advisory body to the State Library and Archives Commission, it has no staff or operational funding . In order to continue the work initiated under Senate Bill 897, some staffing resources for the Council are required. A Secretariat for the Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council should be established in the State and Local Records Division of the State Library and Archives Commission, to coordinate the continuing study of electronic records issues. The State Library and Archives Commission should communicate the specific needs for this Secretariat function, in terms of staffing and operational costs. The Legislature should authorize additional FTE staffing and appropriate funds commensurate with the needs outlined by the TSLAC.

B. The Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council should be authorized to seek public and private partnerships in order to continue the study initiated by Senate Bill 897 of the 75th Legislature .

C. The Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council should be authorized to direct agencies to participate in the ongoing study.

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