Fundamentals of Managing Local Government Archival Records

by Gloria A. Bartowski
Local Government Records Technical Information Series No. 40
1995

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As part of their overall records management programs, local governments are responsible for administering, caring for and making available archival records for users. Attending to local government archival records may require as little as an hour or two per month from a Records Management Officer working with just a few boxes of records stored in a vault; or, it could require staff working in an area dedicated to managing and preserving several hundred or even thousands of cubic feet of archival records. Archival operations do not have to be elaborate or expensive to be effective, but should build on certain fundamental activities discussed in the following pages. This publication:

provides local governments with a general understanding of archival activities and principles,
introduces vocabulary and concepts related to archival activities, and
suggests core archival activities which governments may undertake.