Federal Records Management

NARA Bulletin 2008-01

ATTENTION! This Bulletin has expired and is no longer in effect. For NARA's current guidance please visit https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/bulletins. Please note that this page is available only as a technical and historical reference.

December 21, 2007

TO: Heads of Federal agencies

SUBJECT: Checklist of current NARA bulletins and list of records management guidance in effect

EXPIRATION DATE: September 30, 2008

1.  What is the purpose of this bulletin? This bulletin lists National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) bulletins that are in effect. It also defines the overall structure for NARA records management guidance, and lists the guidance products that are in effect. The first table in this bulletin lists previously-issued NARA bulletins that are currently in effect. The second table identifies NARA records management guidance which is fundamental and required for sound records management practice. The third table identifies other guidance products which provide additional context, address specific implementation issues and describe recommended practices. The fourth table identifies FY07 updates to the General Records Schedules.

2.  What are NARA bulletins?

a. The Archivist of the United States uses NARA bulletins when transmitting fundamental records management guidance to agencies or when reminding agencies of specific records management responsibilities. This guidance helps agencies comply with recordkeeping laws and regulations. You can find more information about NARA's records management regulations in Subchapter B of Chapter XII of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The first bulletin of the fiscal year is a checklist of current bulletins and records management guidance products.

b. Other NARA bulletins typically remain in effect for a duration of three years. Upon expiration, the fundamental guidance remains in effect until superseded. NARA may re-issue bulletins when guidance warrants particular attention due to circumstances (e.g. election, natural disasters, etc.) or changes in laws and regulations.

3.  What other vehicles does NARA use to promulgate records management guidance? NARA also uses Memos to Records Officers from the Director of Modern Records Programs to convey recommended records management practices that agencies should consider incorporating into their recordkeeping operations. This category of guidance is contained in the third table.

4.  How can I get more information about NARA bulletins For more information about specific NARA bulletins, call the Lifecycle Management Division at 301-837-3560 or send your question to RM.Communications@nara.gov.

5. How do I know which records management guidance is required? NARA will identify in its promulgating document (NARA bulletin or Memo to Records Officers) whether newly-issued guidance is fundamental and required, or recommended practice. NARA also provides many timely and relevant information products to assist Federal agencies in performing their statutorily-required records management functions. NARA records management guidance is available on the NARA web site at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/guidance-regulations.html. Agencies may also wish to consult the media-specific Toolkit for Managing Electronic Records (http://toolkit.archives.gov/pls/htmldb/f?p=102:1:11077972001844564795) which identifies NARA records management guidance products applicable to electronic records. The Toolkit includes not only NARA products but also products from Federal agencies, academia, and other sources.

6. How do I obtain copies of NARA bulletins?

a. Paper copies. We send paper copies of our bulletins to the heads of Federal agencies. You can obtain additional paper copies by contacting the NARA Lifecycle Management Division at 301-837-3560.

b. Electronic copies. We send electronic copies of our bulletins to Federal agency records officers. We also post all NARA bulletins on the NARA web site at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/bulletins/.

7. How do I correct any mistakes in the mailing address? To correct the mailing address for the head of your Federal agency, contact NARA's Policy and Planning Staff at301-837-1850.. To correct the mailing address for the agency records officer, contact RM.Communications@nara.gov.

ALLEN WEINSTEIN
Archivist of the United States

 

Table 1

Bulletin Number and Title Issued Expires
2005-04 Availability of electronic records management guidance for PKI digital signature authenticated and secured transaction records 3/28/2005 3/31/2008
2005-05 Guidance for flexible scheduling 4/20/2005 4/30/2008
2005-06 Additional requirement for transferring permanent records to the National Archives of the United States directly from agencies 8/22/2005 8/31/2008
2005-07 Records Storage Facility Standards 9/27/2005 9/30/2008
2006-02 NARA Guidance for Implementing Section 207(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002 12/15/2005 10/01/2009
2006-03 Availability of the Federal Enterprise Architecture Records Management Profile 12/23/2005 12/31/2008
2006-04 Scheduling Electronic Copies of E-mail and Word Processing Records 7/12/2006 7/31/2009
2006-05 Pre-accessioning Permanent Electronic Records 7/31/2006 7/31/2009
2007-02 Guidance concerning the use of Enterprise Rights Management (ERM) and other encryption-related software on Federal records 4/30/2007 4/30/2010

 

Table 2

FUNDAMENTAL GUIDANCE URL
Disposition of Federal Records (1997) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/publications/disposition-of-federal-records/index.html
Electronic Information Management Standards - DoD 5015.2 (2002) http://jitc.fhu.disa.mil/recmgt/standards.html
Electronic Records Management Guidance on Methodology for Determining Agency-unique Requirements (2004) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/requirements-guidance.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Existing E-mail Messages with Attachments (2002) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/email-attachments.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Existing Permanent Electronic Records Scanned Images of Textual Records (2002) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/scanned-textual.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records Digital Photographic Records (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/digital-photo-records.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records in Portable Document Format (PDF) (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/pdf-records.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records Digital Geospatial Data Records (2004) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/digital-geospatial-data-records.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records Web Content Records (2004) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/web-content-records.html
Guidance for Coordinating the Evaluation of Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) Proposals for ERM Applications (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/cpic-guidance.html
NARA Guidance on Managing Web Records (2005) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/managing-web-records-index.html
Records Management Guidance for Agencies Implementing Electronic Signature Technologies (2000) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/electronic-signature-technology.html

 

Table 3

RECOMMENDED PRACTICE/GUIDANCE URL
Documenting Your Public Service (2000) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/publications/documenting-your-public-service.html
Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Records Management Profile: Electronic Records Management and Recordkeeping Requirements Checklists:

Business Process Design (BPD) Checklist (2007)
http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/bpd-checklist.pdf
Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Records Management Profile: Electronic Records Management and Recordkeeping Requirements Checklists:

Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) Checklist (2007)
http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/cpic-checklist.pdf
Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Records Management Profile: Electronic Records Management and Recordkeeping Requirements Checklists:

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Checklist (2007)
http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/sdlc-checklist.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Audio and Video Records (2007) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/dav-faq.html
Frequently Asked Questions About Imaged Records (2005) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/faqs/imaged.html
Frequently Asked Questions About Instant Messaging (2006) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/im-faq.html
Frequently Asked Questions About Optical Storage Media: Storing Temporary Records on CDs and DVDs (2007) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/temp-opmedia-faq.html
Frequently Asked Questions About Records Management (2006) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/faqs/
Frequently Asked Questions about Records Scheduling and Disposition (2006) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/faqs/scheduling.html
Frequently Asked Questions About Selecting Sustainable Formats for Electronic Records (2007) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/sustainable-faq.html
Frequently Asked Questions about Transferring Permanent Records in PDF/A-1 to NARA (2007) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/pdf-faq.html
Guidance for Building an Effective Enterprise-wide Electronic Records Management (ERM) Governance Structure (2005) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/governance-guidance.html
Guidance on Transferring Electronic Records to NARA (2006) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/erecords-information.html
Implications of Recent Web Technologies for NARA Web Guidance (2007) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/web-tech.html
Recommended Practice: Analysis of Lessons Learned for Enterprise-wide ERM Projects (2006) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/lessons-learned.html
Recommended Practice: Developing and Implementing an Enterprise-wide Electronic Records Management (ERM) Proof of Concept Pilot (2006) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/pilot-guidance.html
Recommended Practice: Evaluating Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Electronic Records Management (ERM) Applications (2005) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/cots-eval-guidance.html
Records Management Guidance for PKI Digital Signature Authenticated and Secured Transaction Records (2005) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/pki.html
Records Management Guidance For PKI-Unique Administrative Records (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/pki-guidance.html
Records Management Self-Evaluation Guide (2001) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/publications/records-management-self-evaluation-guide.pdf
Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery: An Instructional Guide (1999) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/vital-records/index.html

 

Table 4

RECENT UPDATES TO GENERAL RECORDS SCHEDULES URL
GRS Transmittal No.17, revision to GRS 10, Motor Vehicle and Aircraft Maintenance and Operations Records (2007) Transmittal:

http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/ardor/grs-trs17.html
 

GRS 10:

http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/ardor/grs10.pdf

 

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