AC 17.2012

May 7 2012

MEMORANDUM TO FEDERAL AGENCY CONTACTS: Reducing the Records Scheduling Backlog

Starting today, Monday, May 7, through Friday, July 6, the Appraisal Teams within Records Management Services (ACNR) will begin a 60-day initiative to complete processing of agency-submitted records schedules in the appraisal backlog. Backlog schedules are defined as those that are at least two years old and have an FY 2009 or older registration number.

During this 60-day focus, appraisers will review all backlog schedules and take actions to move them forward as rapidly as possible for approval. Your appraiser may be contacting you for schedule revisions, appraisal visit appointments, or questions related to these schedules. We ask that you provide prompt responses so that together we can complete these schedules. Your appraisers will continue to work with you on prioritizing your other schedules, and during this 60-day period we will continue to work on other schedules that are already in progress or others that agencies identify as high priority.

Since the start of the fiscal year the Appraisal Teams have already reduced the number of backlog schedules on hand by 40%. We would like to continue this trend throughout the rest of the fiscal year, and as we work through the backlog, we will be collecting data and lessons learned that will help us improve our process for completing future records schedules in a more timely fashion.

We appreciate your cooperation in this ongoing effort to reduce the amount of time it takes to process records schedules, whether they are recently submitted or in the appraisal backlog. We believe this initiative is an important project that supports the NARA transformational pillar to become a customer-focused organization. In working towards that goal, we are committed to being responsive to your records management needs, and we look forward to working with you on completing action on all your submitted records schedules.

If you have any questions about your agency's backlog schedules, please contact your Appraisal Archivist. A list of Appraisal Archivists can be found at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/appraisal/work-group-all.html. For overall questions about the initiative, contact Margaret Hawkins, Director of Records Management Services, at (301) 837-1799, or by e-mail at margaret.hawkins@nara.gov.

PAUL M. WESTER, JR.
Chief Records Officer for the
U. S. Government