Chapter Education Series

Attempting to manage e-mail under federal and state records laws have been vexing administrators for the last two decades. However, a recent Managing Government Records mandate from the U.S. Archivist requiring federal agencies to manage e-mail in electronic form by the end of calendar year 2016, and requiring the transfer of all permanently valuable electronic records to the National Archives in digital form by 2019, represent important policy initiatives that both federal and state administrators in the public sector should know about. Additionally, the new “Capstone” policy for e-mail being implemented by federal agencies represents an important policy development with implications both for records management as well as responding to Freedom of Information and Right to Information requests.
Objectives:

• Understand the U.S. Archivist’s Managing Government Records Directive’s requirements for e-mail and other electronic records
• Inform how the new Capstone policy for e-mail holds the potential to help solve records management issues for e-mail while improving the ability of agencies to provide access to public records in electronic form.
• Determine best practices for electronic records management under the Directive and related policies.