Nara Records Management

All federal agency records are managed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). A large number of government agencies lack effectively archived records and need better data archiving methods - these were the findings of NARA records management division. 93% of the 270 federal agencies covered under the records management policies evaluation survey were responsive.

Based on the assessment of the NARA records management division survey results, the risk of not having effective record archiving methods was high in some cases. The departments standing lowest in the survey include Transport, Education, Justice and Agriculture. A score below 90 indicates moderate risk of inadequate recordkeeping and as many as 90% survey respondents fell in this category.

A majority of departments failed in effective electronic recordkeeping. Federal departments either completely lack a compliant system for retaining electronic data or email messages are not captured because of their incompatibility with the system. In order to keep a record of emails, the agencies have resorted to printing and filing of these messages, but according to NARA, electronic records are important and this preservation method is inadequate. Moreover, many agencies believe that if they are backing up their emails on computers or hard drives, it is the same as having a proper archival software that saves all the emails so that they can be accessed by NARA or any other regulating agency.

Often records management personnel are not consulted while making data archiving plans, which is a matter concern. They do not get to make decisions regarding how they will save the data, what company's software they will use and what is the most efficient way of going about this process. All these decision are taken by officials on higher posts who often lack first hand understanding of the record management process leading to inefficient system. 16% survey respondents claimed occasional involvement of record management staff in the decision making process, while further 19% claimed regular involvement.

This signifies that the involvement of data management department in decision making process is nil in more about 65% agencies. The record programs at many agencies being inadequate, they do not ensure complete compliance with NARA regulations. Poor skill level of record management workers and lack of training are other reasons for inefficient data management.