Press Release
Press Release · Monday, May 18, 1998

Washington, D.C. . . At a records management conference on May 21, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will be the first winners of awards inaugurated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for "Best Practices in Records Management" in the Federal government. Michael Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for Records Services--Washington, D.C., will present the awards that honor individual excellence and also help the Federal government as a whole learn from exemplary practices in all aspects of records management, including electronic records. In its Strategic Plan, Ready Access to Essential Evidence, NARA committed itself to identifying and promoting access to records management "best practices." These awards are one example of NARA’s ongoing efforts in that area.

NARA is presenting the award to BPA because of its superior records management guidance and service. Over the last decade, for example, the program has been highly successful in developing and updating its records disposition schedules. BPA has also done very well in distributing records management information. The records program maintains a valuable World Wide Web site http://www.bpa.gov/EBR/Records/recman//recman.htm, and the agency records schedules are available through the NARA Agency Records Disposition Online Resource (ARDOR) web site at http://ardor.nara.gov/.

The PTO records program is receiving the award because of its highly successful records inventorying and scheduling project. In 1991, the agency undertook an agency-wide inventory of all records in all formats. The agency used the inventory to submit eight schedules to NARA, all of which have been approved. PTO now has a comprehensive records management manual to manage its records, including those in electronic form.

The awards will be presented at NARA’s annual Records Administration (RACO) conference at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel. The theme of the conference is "The Digital Age: Challenges For Records Management." Archivist of the United States John W. Carlin will welcome the participants and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury James J. Flyzik will present the keynote address.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail.

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