NARA Guidance on Managing Web Records
January 2005
)Web site operations are an integral part of an agency's program. Managing web records properly is essential to effective web site operations, especially the mitigation of the risks an agency faces by using the web to carry out agency business. This guidance will assist agency officials in this regard, including agency program staff, webmasters, IT staff, and other agency officials who have a role in web site management and administration.
This guidance is comprised of four sections:
- GENERAL
BACKGROUND, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND REQUIREMENTS – This section
outlines the various ways in which agencies use web sites, the roles played by different agency staffs in web operations, and the basic statutory requirements that govern web sites, especially the Federal Records Act. This section also identifies the types of records agencies typically accumulate in connection with their web sites.
- MANAGING WEB RECORDS - This section is intended to assist agency staff in managing their web records. Aimed particularly at webmasters, IT staff, and those program officials responsible for web content, this section outlines the steps an agency must take to ensure trustworthy web records and mitigate the risks associated with web site operations.
- SCHEDULING
WEB RECORDS - This section is intended to assist agency staff, especially records officers, in developing disposition schedules for web records. It addresses such matters as the types of records that should be covered in web schedules, how these schedules might be structured, and the factors an agency should consider in determining how long records should be
retained.
- APPENDIXES