Federal Records Management

FAQs for GRS 6.4, Public Affairs Records

Download all Frequently Asked Questions of Individual GRS Schedules in a PDF

 

QUESTIONS RELATED TO ITEM 020

 

1. What are “routine complaints or commendations”?

Routine complaints and commendations are those that come from the public on an ad-hoc basis, are not solicited, and do not require further action from the agency.

 

2. This item includes agency postings on social media accounts as well as comments an agency receives on its website. How can an agency dispose of these records on sites it does not control?

Because agencies often cannot destroy comments or posts on social media, this item applies only if the agency does have control or captures the records. NARA does not expect agencies to destroy social media records that they do not control. However, agencies do need to manage their social media records. NARA provides guidance on managing social media records in NARA Bulletin 2014-02.

 

3. Why does this item cover comments agencies do not act on, but does not cover comments that agencies do act on?

Comments agencies do not act upon have limited business value and generally no historical value.  Comments that require action may have significant business value and potential historical value. As such, we cannot universally declare them either permanent or temporary, so we do not include them in the GRS.

QUESTION RELATED TO ITEM 030

 

4. Why does Exclusion 1 omit common records such as speeches, publications, and agency histories from Item 030?

Many records created under the public affairs function cannot be declared universally temporary or universally permanent across the entire Federal Government.  Therefore, agencies must schedule them individually. We have provided guidelines for how agencies can determine whether specific record types are permanent or temporary in our guide “Scheduling Public Affairs Records.”

 GRS Home page

 GRS Schedules page

Top