Kansas State Records Management Manual
Agency Records Officers
Statutory Responsibility
Kansas Administrative Regulation 53-4-1 requires the director of each
state agency to appoint a records officer for the agency or for each
major organizational subdivision. This regulation was approved to implement
the Public Records Act, K.S.A. 75-3501-3516, by designating someone
with each agency to oversee the efficient management of agency records.
- "(a) The duties of the records officer shall be to:
- (1) Maintain a liaison between the agency, the state records board,
and the State Archives of the Kansas Historical Society;
- (2) prepare and maintain an inventory of each record series in
the custody of the agency in cooperation with the archives staff;
- (3) prepare and submit retention and disposition schedules for
the state agency's records for approval or modification to the state
records board in cooperation with the archives staff;
- (4) periodically review the agency's records retention and disposition
schedules, and submit requests for any needed modifications to the
state records board;
- (5) disseminate pertinent information regarding records management
to appropriate staff members within the state agency; and
- (6) formulate and oversee implementation of agency records management
policies and procedures with the assistance of the archives staff
to ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state statutes
and regulations.
- (A) Precautions against the destruction or other disposition of
agency records without authorization of the state records board, except
that these records may be transferred to the state archives with the
consent of the state archivist under K.S.A. 45-405;
- (B) storage conditions and procedures for handling agency records
with enduring value that will minimize damage and deterioration;
- (C) security arrangements that prevent loss, defacement or destruction
of agency records due to theft or vandalism; and
- (D) procedures to ensure that all microfilm copies of records with
enduring value meet the requirements of K.S.A. 75-3506 and K.S.A.
45-412.
- (b) At the discretion of each agency director, the records officer
may be responsible for ensuring adequate public access to agency records
as required by the open records act, K.S.A. 45-201 et seq., and for
ensuring that satisfactory safeguards exist against unauthorized disclosure
of confidential records.
- (c) Each records officer shall be a staff member holding an administrative
or professional position. The duties of the records officer may be
collateral duties to an existing position in the agency."
Essentially, this means the records officer, on behalf of the agency,
may be responsible for all issues of records management policy and statutory
compliance with the Public Records Act, the Records Preservation Act,
and the Open Records Act, the three major laws dealing with state records
in Kansas. The staff of the State Archives and the Records Management
Section of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) are available
to provide advice and assistance in all of the tasks outlined above.
The primary goal of any comprehensive records management program is
to ensure that information, whatever the format, is available when and
where it is needed at the lowest possible cost during the entire life
cycle of a record. This goal implies that government records are a resource
that requires time and money to create and retain and that is impacted
by a number of legal requirements. Thus, they need to be "managed" just
like any other resource. Few agencies have the ability to appoint a
full time records officer, but even limited efforts at records management
can benefit state agencies. The following explanations of the various
duties of records officers listed in K.A.R. 53-4-1 illustrate some of
the advantages of implementing a records management program.
Records Inventory/Survey
The records inventory/survey is a listing of all records series created
and maintained by an agency. Generally it is prepared prior to or in
conjunction with the development of a records retention and disposition
schedule. The inventory/survey includes data such as the records series
title, inclusive dates, use, location, quantity arrangement, format,
restrictions or legal requirements, and all other pertinent information
for determining the content of the records. Whether initiating a new
records management program or overseeing an existing one, it is critical
to have a comprehensive inventory/survey upon which to base decisions
about the retention and disposition of records. For example, such an
inventory insures that records with no permanent value are not overlooked
in developing a records schedule and that they do not continue to take
up valuable space in file cabinets or storage areas.
The inventory/survey process is described in the Records Surveys section
of this manual. The inventory is an ongoing process because, as new
record series are created, they need to be surveyed and the retention
and disposition schedule needs to be updated.
Retention and Disposition Schedule
The records retention and disposition schedule is the document that
identifies the length of time each records series must be retained in
active storage and in inactive storage before final destruction or disposition
to the State Archives for permanent retention. Decisions about retention
periods are based on the use of the records while "current;" legal requirements;
the value of the records in documenting the activities of a state agency
including policies, procedures, transactions, and decisions; and the
historical value of the information contained in the records.
KSHS Records Management Section personnel work with agencies to prepare
these schedules. The process involves staff of the specific agency,
legal counsel, and State Archives staff, as necessary, to set the length
of time records will be maintained in the originating office and, depending
on the content, further disposition to the State Records Center for
a specific period, and, finally, destruction or transfer to the State
Archives. The completed records schedule is submitted to the State Records
Board for approval, as are any requests for changes and updates.
Two different retention and disposition schedules apply to the records
of each agency. The "General Records Retention and Disposition Schedule"
contains retention periods for series of records that are common to
most state agencies such as purchase orders, annual reports, budget
documents, etc. In addition, the "Agency Records Retention and Disposition
Schedule" establishes retention periods for record series that are unique
to that agency or when the time periods in the general schedule need
to be modified for a specific record series for the agency.
As indicated above, each agency's records officer is responsible for
periodically reviewing the retention and disposition schedule in order
to add new records or modify the retention periods for records already
scheduled.
Training
The records officer is charged with "disseminating pertinent information
regarding records management to appropriate staff members." This includes
working with secretarial and clerical staff in establishing filing systems
that allow for the efficient implementation of retention and disposition
schedules, familiarizing staff with the state laws that govern preservation
of and access to government records, establishing a process for implementing
records schedules by discarding records and/or transferring them to
the State Records Center as required by the retention and disposition
schedules, etc.
Implementation of Records Management Policies
Implicit in the creation of a records retention and disposition schedule
is its implementation. The records officer has responsibility for overseeing
the disposition of records as approved in the general or the agency
schedule, whether the record series is to be discarded or transferred
to the State Records Center or the State Archives. Thus, the records
officer also is responsible for preventing the destruction or disposition
of agency records without State Records Board authorization. Specific
procedures for transferring records to the State Records Center are
outlined in that section of the manual. Arrangements to transfer records
scheduled for deposit in the State Archives can be made by contacting
(785) 272-8681.
The records officer should establish procedures for storing and handling
agency records with enduring value that will ensure their long term
preservation. To the extent possible, this includes storing records
in areas that are not subject to extreme temperature changes, flooding
or water leaks, and that provide security from loss and defacement.
If agency records with enduring value are microfilmed, the records officer
should establish procedures to ensure that the quality of the microfilm
meets the standards required by K.S.A. 75-3506 and K.S.A. 45-412.
Other duties that relate to formulating and overseeing implementation
of an agency records management program may include:
- Designing, monitoring, and refining efficient and effective records
storage and retrieval systems, whatever the format--paper, microfilm,
or electronic.
- Identifying vital records (those records needed to resume business
in the event of a disaster) and taking precautions to protect them
such as developing disaster preparedness plans for vital and archival
records.
- Administering public access to records in accordance with the Kansas
Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-201 et seq.) while ensuring that legal
restrictions on access to confidential records are followed.
- Conducting cost/benefit studies of records management activities.
- Directing forms design and forms management.
- Participating in automation studies to ensure that records management
concerns are represented in designing and analyzing systems.
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