Knowing Your Records

Records Inventory Basics

The first step towards good records management is to know what you have to manage. The best way to know what you have is to conduct an inventory.

What Is a Records Inventory?

A records inventory is a descriptive listing of records or systems your agency creates or receives.

An inventory is not a list of each document or folder in an agency or program office. Records must still be organized into series or groups. (See Records Basics - Definitions for what is a series.)

A records series is a group of records, regardless of format, kept together for one or more of the following reasons:

• They relate to a particular subject or function
• They result from the same activity
• They document a specific kind of transaction
• They have some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use

The record series concept is a convenient way of grouping files or documents to manage them as a group.

It may help to instead think of the inventory process as creating a profile of the records. You are collecting information about the records your agency creates in order to describe how and where the records are used. Such a profile helps to answer questions such as:

• What records does a function or office create and use?
• Are all records currently covered by an approved records schedule?
• Have we identified our essential records?
• Where are our permanent records and when are they due for transfer?
• Do our record schedules reflect current business activities?

Types of Record Inventories

The type of inventory you conduct will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. The two primary types of inventories are Baseline or Initial Inventories and Record Scheduling Inventories. You may also conduct a records inventory for other information management purposes. These inventories differ not only in why they are conducted but in how much information they collect.

Baseline or initial inventories

The purpose of a baseline inventory is to understand what you have and how it is currently stored and managed. These types of inventories:

• Identify and assist with control of the agency’s information assets.
• Point out records that need to be scheduled.
• Highlight opportunities to consolidate or automate how records are stored, protected, and managed.

These inventories vary in scope. They may be done for the entire agency, a function your agency performs, or a single program/office, depending on the need. The level of detail is usually less. The information collected for this type of inventory is usually limited to what records exist, who uses them, what formats are the records and, and where are they kept.

Inventories for scheduling records

The records scheduling process should begin with a records inventory. This step in the scheduling process may vary depending on your situation. Records that were previously scheduled will have slightly different information needs from those that have never been scheduled.

The scope may vary depending on the end goal of the effort. An agency that wants to move to big bucket/aggregate item schedules will need a comprehensive inventory. An agency looking to schedule a new program or function may only need to inventory a single office.

The level of information collected will be significantly more than a baseline inventory. This information is needed to create the record schedule and so that NARA can appraise the records.

An inventory for scheduling purposes tells the story of how, when, and by whom the records are created. In this type of inventory, you'll collect information about how the records are used, about any other programs or stakeholders who have an interest in the records, and about any laws, regulations, audit requirements, or business procedures that affect how long the records are needed.

The content and scope of your inventory will depend on why you are scheduling records. Records scheduling scenarios may involve one or more of the following:

• The need for a new schedule because:
  • Your agency starts a new program or function/activity
  • You are made aware of unscheduled records in your agency
• The need to reschedule records because:
  • A program office wants to change something about a schedule for their records
  • Processes related to the records change, including new record types being created or records no longer being created
  • New business, legal, audit, or regulatory requirements require a change in the retention of the records
  • The previously approved disposition instruction no longer works
  • You’ve reviewed your schedules that are 10 years or older and found items to update
  • You want to do a comprehensive update to reflect changes to work processes or records management practices
  • You want to move to big buckets or functional schedules

Other types of inventories

Records inventories are appropriate any time you need to know what information assets you have or need to take action on. The scope and level of detail you collect should be based on need. Other reasons you may want to inventory records include:

• Identifying permanent records to ensure timely transfers to NARA
• Identifying classified record or records that require special accountability
• Identifying records impacted by natural disasters
• Identifying damaged or hazardous records for an emergency disposal request
• Implementing new General Records Schedules
• Specialized inventories, such as for Quality Management Records or essential records
• Managing records for presidential transitions

Why Should You Inventory Your Records?

Records inventories are required as part of the scheduling process. See 36 CFR 1225.12(b). That is not the only reason you should inventory records, however. Inventorying your records also has multiple benefits:

• Know what you have and what you need to manage

  • Support partnerships with IT Enterprise Architecture inventories
  • Support classified information accountability
  • Identify and manage Quality Management records
  • Identify at risk records or digital records that need migration or preservation plans
  • Identify records management issues, including:
• Inadequate documentation of official actions
  • Improper applications of recordkeeping technology
  • Deficient filing systems and records management practices
  • Poor management of non-record materials
  • Insufficient identification of essential records
  • Inadequate records security practices
  • Opportunities to streamline, automate, and centralize access to information
• Build relationships between the Records Management Program and program offices
• Collect information for records scheduling and appraisal

Why Is an Inventory Necessary for Scheduling Records?

The records schedule is key to effective records disposition. It’s not good enough that the agency understands what the records are. The appraiser and the public need to understand as well, based on the information provided on the schedule. This is especially true for temporary records proposed for destruction. Collecting detailed information about the records for scheduling helps everyone understand the complete content, context, structure, use, and value of the records.

The record schedule should be based on information gathered during the inventory process. The more complete the inventory, the better the schedule is likely to be.

Inventorying is useful not only in developing the schedule but also in ensuring that it is applied properly and kept up to date. A records inventory can identify when:

• Processes and workflows change
• Records retention needs change
• Records are no longer created
• There are new records related to a function

Benefits of conducting an inventory when scheduling records:

• You can write better record descriptions that explain the content and context of the records. 
• You can explain the process the records are related to, such as what information the records contain, where it came from, and what it is used for. 
• You can explain why the proposed disposition instruction is appropriate.
• You can be confident that the proposed retention time for the records will meet all stakeholders’ needs.

Guidelines for Inventorying Records

Records Inventorying Checklist - This job aid will walk you through the basic steps of the records inventorying process.

Know What Your Agency Does

Before starting any inventory project, look at your agency’s organizational structure and functions. Familiarizing yourself with your agency’s organizational structure helps to determine how information might flow through the agency. It also can show where certain functions or activities take place in your agency. Understanding the functions of your agency helps you understand the records it creates or receives when fulfilling those activities. Even if you are only inventorying a single program or office you should understand the program’s or office’s functions. Knowing your agency’s functions is even more important if you are doing a comprehensive records inventory. Reviewing agency functions shows how different functions and their records interrelate across the agency. 

How to identify your agency’s functions
An agency’s functions are reflected in its program responsibilities structure, and levels of authority. To find this information:

• Examine laws, regulations, organization charts, and functional statements
• Consult program managers, information technology managers, FOIA/Privacy, and records personnel

Answer the following questions:

• Which are the key line and staff offices?
• What programs does the agency have?
• What programs or functions share information?
• What units develop policies?
• Where are staff support activities performed? These include:
  • Legal
  • Fiscal and budgetary
  • Inspection
  • General management 
  • Administrative services

Know Your Recordkeeping Requirements and Practices

It is also important to review the agency's recordkeeping requirements and practices. Answer the following questions:

• Look at your existing schedules: 
  • What records are scheduled? 
  • How long ago? 
  • Are those schedules accurate?
• What are the agency's recordkeeping requirements?
• Have recordkeeping requirements been established for records in all formats?
• Is there a prescribed agency-wide records maintenance system? If so, how widely is it used? If not, what systems are used instead?
• Is there a prescribed classification system for general correspondence?  If so, is it numeric, subject-numeric, or some other system?
• How are case files or project records organized and managed?
• What agency policy and procedures, if any, govern essential records, adequacy of documentation, personal papers of officials, and Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act concerns?
• Look for additional sources of information
  • Does your Information Technology office have inventories of systems or data repositories?
  • Does your Chief Data Officer have inventories of agency data sets or repositories?
• Identifying the right people to talk to. You may need different people for different types of information. 
  • Identify system owners
  • Business process owners
  • Program staff that actually create or use the records
• Be mindful of the types of information your NARA appraiser will need
  • See Common Appraisal Questions 
    

Know Your Goals 

Before starting a big project like a records inventory, identify your goals. 

Ask the following questions:

• What is the scope of your project?
  • The entire agency? A certain function or activity? A certain office?
  • Are you seeking to schedule records, identify where certain types of records are so you can manage them better, or are you interested in a certain type of record like essential records or data sets?
  • Do you want to change your agency’s scheduling approach, such as moving to Big Bucket or functional schedules from traditional schedules?
  • Are you dealing with unscheduled records or scheduled records? 
  • Are your existing records schedules old? If so, they may not reflect current business practices, so additional information will be needed.

The answers to these questions will help determine how much information you need to collect and from whom. Inventories for scheduling records, especially those for unscheduled records or outdated schedules, are more likely to require more detailed information.

Prioritize Where to Start

Your goals will help you prioritize where to start the inventory.

Ask the following questions:

• Where is the greatest need? This will help determine where to start.
  • Where are records unscheduled? 
  • Where are records schedules outdated?
  • Where do records need to be disposed?
  • Have you identified your essential records?
  • What functions, activities, or offices are more likely to create permanent records?

Consider what is possible with the resources you have when deciding on the scope of your project. If you need a comprehensive overhaul, but don’t have the resources, prioritize based on need:

• Functions that are most likely to have permanent records:
  • Senior officials
  • Offices of functions related to the mission of your agency
• Areas where the schedules are particularly old and may not represent current business processes and needs
• Deprioritize records of lesser value like administrative records or see if you can use the GRS for them

Make a Plan

Your goals and purpose for your inventory will influence your approach.

1.    Figure out the scope of your inventory. 

• Will the inventory be comprehensive or will it focus on a single office or function? 
• What order will you approach different functions or offices in?
• You don’t need to collect the same level of information for scheduled records as you would for unscheduled records or records that need to be rescheduled. 

2.    Determine who will conduct the inventory.

• Will the work be done by staff from the Records Management office, records liaisons, a data call? Who conducts the inventory and how they do it may depend on your goals and how much time you have for the project. 
• Not all approaches will work equally well depending on your goal. A data call is not likely to produce sufficient information to schedule records.

3.    Prepare the inventory form or collection tool. Agency records are most suitably inventoried by series or system. Decide what inventory elements are necessary and then use a form, or forms, to collect the same information on each series/system. Below is an example of an inventory form with instructions. It includes questions that collect information that will be required when scheduling the records.

Sample Inventory Form with Instructions
ERA 2.0 Schedule Data Entry Tool

Collect information about all records, even non-records. Non-records should also be located, described and evaluated in terms of use. You should assign retention periods to them and include nonrecord series in your agency disposition manual.

4.    Identify where agency records are located. Records may be in different formats: paper, electronic, audiovisual. They may be stored in office space, a records storage facility, or on a server.

Communicate About Your Project to Get Buy-In

Get support from your senior management. Management buy-in is essential for success. It may be useful to have management issue a directive or notice about the inventory project. 

Communication with agency staff is also essential to a successful inventory project. Develop a communication plan. Make sure that offices involved in the inventory project know about it. Make plans to keep management and staff informed about your progress.

Meet with the staff that will be conducting the inventory. Make sure that they understand the goals of the project. Provide training, if needed. Records management staff may not require as much training as program staff that are unfamiliar with records management practices.
 

Conduct the Inventory

Data collections or surveys may work to collect very basic records information, but the best practice to collect thorough information about the records your agency creates is to meet with the people that create and use the records.

• Keep in mind that agency staff may not know records management terminology or processes. Consider starting with a brief introduction on what records management is and why it is important.
• Ask about processes rather than records. Staff may not realize that the information they use or create while conducting business is a record. Ask about what they do and what information they use or create. Then you can identify the records.

Verify and Analyze Findings

The records management office should assess the quality of the inventory's results. Spot-check the results for obvious errors, such as missing information and intermixing two or more series. If someone else has prepared the inventory, examine some of the inventoried records to confirm the accuracy of the information recorded on the inventory form. If spot-checks reveal multiple issues, records management staff may need to re-inventory the records.

Follow-up On Your Findings

The follow-up to an inventory project will depend on the goal of the project.

• If the goal was to identify unscheduled records or schedules that need to be updated, then prepare new schedules.
• If the goal was to have better intellectual control of a certain type of record, such as essential records, then you may need to update internal tracking documentation or records disposition manuals

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