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Vol. 26:1 ISSN 0160-8460 March 1998
Guidelines for Electronic Records Management on State and Federal Websites
by Charles R. McClure
Records managers need to devote resources immediately to ensuring that state and Federal web-based electronic records are managed and preserved as are other official records of government. Findings from a one-year study completed by co-principal investigators Charles R. McClure and J. Timothy Sprehe, and funded by NHPRC Grant No. 97-014, include the following:
- Policy for electronic records management (ERM) of websites at the state and Federal level is confusing, ambiguous, and contradictory.
- The "state of the art" for ERM of state and Federal websites is rapidly changing and evolving; new practices and techniques are being developed by selected Federal agencies, and some state institutions are also adopting new practices.
- At the Federal level, until there are better guidelines and policy, individual agencies will have to develop their own policy and "best practices" for ERM of websites.
- In a number of states, the importance and impact of issues related to ERM of websites are only now being recognized.
These and other findings resulted from a range of data collection activities including site visits to state and Federal agencies, surveys and interviews at professional conferences and meetings, and online analysis of state and Federal websites. A major product of this research project is "Guidelines for Electronic Records Management of State and Federal Websites," co-authored by McClure and Sprehe. The guidelines are available on the following web link: McClure Guidelines. They should be seen as a first step in an ongoing process of developing both policy and specific strategies for ERM of state and Federal websites. The project's final report will also be made available on McClure's homepage.
Two main perspectives offered in these guidelines are critical for the overall success of any government ERM initiative related to websites. First is the concept of "accountability exposure analysis," which suggests that different websites have different levels of accountability exposure for ERM and must plan accordingly. For example, some websites contain very sensitive information, for which the agency liability could be substantial. Second, successful ERM of websites will require careful coordination among key individuals, such as the records manager, the webmaster, and the creator of the electronic information.
State and Federal agencies must recognize that they are accountable for maintaining accurate information on websites, for managing the content of websites, for determining what is appropriate for inclusion on websites, for preserving (in accordance with traditional disposition requirements) "significant" or "historically important" information, and for removing records under particular time requirements - to name but a few of the issues. McClure and Sprehe will conduct a conference on April 22, 1998, in Washington, DC, to provide in-depth review and discussion of these and other issues and policies related to ERM of websites. McClure and Sprehe expect to provide an update to the guidelines during the spring of 1998.
