Federal Records Management

NARA Bulletin 2011-01

ATTENTION! This Bulletin has expired and is no longer in effect. For NARA's current guidance please visit https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/bulletins. Please note that this page is available only as a technical and historical reference.

March 4, 2011

TO: Heads of Federal Agencies

SUBJECT: Checklist of Current NARA Bulletins and List of Records Management Guidance in Effect

EXPIRATION DATE: September 30, 2011

1. What is the purpose of this bulletin?

This bulletin lists National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) bulletins that are in effect. It also defines the structure for NARA records management guidance and lists the guidance. The first table in this bulletin lists previously-issued NARA bulletins that are currently in effect. The second table identifies NARA records management guidance which is fundamental and required for sound records management practice. The third table identifies other guidance products which provide additional context, address specific implementation issues and describe recommended practices. The fourth table identifies FY10 updates to the General Records Schedules.

2. What are NARA bulletins?

a. The Archivist of the United States uses NARA bulletins to transmit fundamental records management guidance to agencies or to remind agencies of specific records management responsibilities. This guidance helps agencies comply with recordkeeping laws and regulations. You can find more information about NARA's records management regulations in 36 CFR, Chapter XII, Subchapter B. The first bulletin of the fiscal year is a checklist of current bulletins and records management guidance.

b. Other NARA bulletins typically remain in effect for three years. Upon expiration, fundamental guidance remains in effect until superseded. NARA may re-issue bulletins when guidance warrants particular attention due to circumstances (e.g. election, natural disasters, etc.) or changes in laws and regulations.

3. What other vehicles does NARA use to promulgate records management guidance?

NARA also uses Memos to Records Officers from the Director of Modern Records Programs to convey recommended records management practices that agencies should consider incorporating into their recordkeeping operations. This category of guidance is contained in the third table.

4. How can I get more information about NARA bulletins?

For more information about specific NARA bulletins, call the Lifecycle Management Division at 301-837-3560 or send your question to RM.Communications@nara.gov.

5. How do I know which records management guidance is required?

NARA will identify in its promulgating document (NARA bulletin or Memo to Records Officers) whether newly-issued guidance is fundamental and required, or recommended practice. NARA also provides many timely and relevant information products to assist Federal agencies in performing their statutorily-required records management functions. NARA records management guidance is available on the NARA web site at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/guidance-regulations.html. Agencies may also wish to consult the media-specific Toolkit for Managing Electronic Records (http://toolkit.archives.gov) which identifies NARA records management guidance products and other tools applicable to electronic records. The Toolkit includes not only NARA products but also products from Federal agencies, academia, and other sources.

6. How do I obtain copies of NARA bulletins?

a. Paper copies. We send paper copies of our bulletins to the heads of Federal agencies. You can obtain additional paper copies by contacting the NARA Lifecycle Management Division at 301-837-3560.

b. Electronic copies. We send electronic copies of our bulletins to Federal agency records officers. We also post all NARA bulletins on the NARA web site at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/bulletins/.

7. How do I correct any mistakes in the mailing address?

To correct the mailing address for the head of your Federal agency, contact NARA's Policy and Planning Staff at 301-837-1850. To correct the mailing address for the agency records officer, contact RM.Communications@nara.gov.

DAVID S. FERRIERO
Archivist of the United States

Table 1
 
BULLETIN NUMBER TITLE ISSUED EXPIRES
2008-06 Records Storage Facility Standards 8/25/2008 8/31/2011
2008-07 Endorsement of DoD Electronic Records Management Software Applications Design Criteria Standard, version 3 9/10/2008 9/30/2011
2009-02 Guidance concerning managing records in multi-agency environments 6/18/2009 6/30/2012
2009-03 Pre-accessioning permanent electronic records 7/30/2009 7/31/2012
2010-02 Continuing Agency Responsibilities for Scheduling Electronic Records 2/5/2010 2/28/2013
2010-03 Flexible Scheduling 5/3/2010 5/31/2013
2010-04 Guidance Concerning Notifications for Previously Scheduled Permanent Records 9/10/2010 8/31/2013
2010-05 Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments 9/30/2010 9/30/2013
2011-02 Guidance on Managing Records in Web 2.0/Social Media Platforms 10/20/2010 10/31/2013
2011-03 Guidance concerning the use of e-mail archiving applications to store e-mail 12/22/2010 11/30/2013


Table 2
 
FUNDAMENTAL GUIDANCE URL
Disposition of Federal Records (1997) (2000 Web Edition) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/publications/disposition-of-federal-records/index.html
Electronic Information Management Standards - DoD 5015.2 (ver. 2, 2002; ver. 3, 2007) http://jitc.fhu.disa.mil/recmgt/standards.html
Electronic Records Management Guidance on Methodology for Determining Agency-unique Requirements (2004) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/requirements-guidance.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Existing E-mail Messages with Attachments (2002) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/email-attachments.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Existing Permanent Electronic Records Scanned Images of Textual Records (2002) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/scanned-textual.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records Digital Photographic Records (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/digital-photo-records.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records in Portable Document Format (PDF) (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/pdf-records.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records Digital Geospatial Data Records (2004) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/digital-geospatial-data-records.html
Expanding Acceptable Transfer Requirements: Transfer Instructions for Permanent Electronic Records Web Content Records (2004) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/web-content-records.html
Guidance for Coordinating the Evaluation of Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) Proposals for ERM Applications (2003) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt /policy/cpic-guidance.html
NARA Guidance on Managing Web Records (2005) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/managing-web-records-index.html
Records Management Guidance for Agencies Implementing Electronic Signature Technologies (2000) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/electronic-signature-technology.html
Records Storage Facility Standards Toolkit (2008) http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/storage-standards-toolkit
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