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Vol. 31:1 ISSN 0160-8460 March 2003
Expect the Unexpected: A Story about Process
by Wendy E. Bredehoft
It is, thus far, a story without an ending. But it is a story in progress, and to us at the Wyoming State Archives (WSA) and the Wyoming State Records Historical Advisory Board (SHRAB), it is an exciting effort. We are looking to build our fledgling electronics records program strategically, a program that might, in the future, be replicated by others in state government, and perhaps in local communities-one that would be cost effective. If we are successful, it might actually motivate others and provide a model for how best to handle electronic records on a static or even shrinking government budget.
The Wyoming State Archives received state legislature funding in 2002 for the development of an Electronic Records Unit. This unit includes Rich Wilson, electronic records supervisor, and Margaret Maione, electronic records analyst. They will be spearheading the Electronic Records Management project funded by the NHPRC.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission has provided a grant of $29,830 for our Electronic Records Management project. This grant will help the WSA, through a consultant, develop a strategic plan for our electronic records program and provide additional electronic records training for WSA staff.
Like many state archives across the country, the WSA is expected to take a leadership role in electronic records management, but what this role looks like is still being defined. With support from our state SHRAB, the WSA successfully approached the Wyoming Legislature in 2002 for the funding required to develop and implement an Electronic Records Unit (ERU). The decision to pursue this funding gained added impetus from recommendations made by Tim Slavin, Delaware's state archivist, who consulted with Wyoming to provide a comprehensive assessment of how the state was handling electronic records in 2001. Wyoming's SHRAB, with funds from NHPRC, helped fund this assessment.
Rich Wilson, who was selected to head the WSA ERU, suggested that we could strategically target the management of electronic records of archival value without the use of additional software. We could develop a climate of support among staff in all of our program areas by training them to use the programs we currently have available through the state's information technology systems. The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources houses a valuable array of programs, including the State Parks and Historic Sites, the Wyoming State Archives, the Wyoming State Museum, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist, and the Wyoming Arts Council. Each of these programs maintains historical electronic records based in the context of their very diverse program requirements. Examples include complex database records, e-mail, GIS records, spreadsheets, word-processing records, and web sites.
The electronic records strategic plan will guide our future efforts to develop effective, low-cost methods for managing electronic records with long-term value and to produce classification standards for archival electronic records. It will lay the groundwork for creating and implementing basic training on how to identify which archival records are being created electronically and how to manage those records for future accessibility. It will examine how to ensure that project participants receive adequate electronic records training and have access to technical assistance when needed.
As we progress in the project work, we maintain our vision of changing the cultural climate in our own department and other agencies in Wyoming government, into one that accepts electronic recordkeeping as the norm. We recognize that the development of a strategic plan will ensure this vision actually occurs within the context of the needs of these government agencies. It will allow us to identify future processes that will help us reach our goals. Meanwhile, we will expect the unexpected and be prepared to take advantage of what it brings our way.
Wendy E. Bredehoft is director, Division of Cultural Resources, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources.
