Managing Records: Services for State Agencies: Newsletters

Archived Newsletters: March 2007

Hi! Welcome to this month’s update on what’s going on in State Agency Services at the NYS Archives.

The big news for us here at the Archives was the Annual Records Management Officer meeting on March 5th. We had almost 50 individuals from a variety of state agencies attend a two hour presentation on services the Archives provides to state agencies and agency oriented initiatives, as well as to take a brief tour of the Archives. It was a wonderful opportunity to put some faces to names and voices, and meet new people as well. Thank you to all who attended. If you were unable to attend but would like to receive copies of the materials that were presented, please email us at sdurling@mail.nysed.gov.

What's in a Name?
At the RMO meeting, a question was raised regarding whether there were Civil Service titles for records management officers that state agencies could use. There are two sets of existing titles that we are aware of. One set is the Office Services Manager (Grade 23) and Assistant Office Services Manager (Grade 18). An archived exam announcement that contains a brief description of these positions can be found on the NYS Department of Civil Service website at http://www.cs.state.ny.us/announarchive/announcements/33-947.cfm Another set of titles is the Archives and Records Management Specialist 1 (Grade 14), 2 (Grade 18), 3 (Grade 23), 4 (Grade 26), and 5 (Grade 27). Most professional staff at the State Archives are in these titles. A plus of the ARMS title series is that it would allow for interchangeability between Archives and state agency positions. A drawback of the ARMS title series is the need for a Masters degree.

The Archives and Records Management Specialist (ARMS) 1 and 2 exam announcements were recently posted on the Civil Service website at http://www.cs.state.ny.us/announ/scheduled/Apr09-2007/27-972.cfm. Applications are due by April 9th. If you are aware of any other records management titles, please let us know. A special thanks to Donna D’Ambrosio, Records Management Unit, Office of the State Comptroller for turning our attention to the Office Services positions.

FORUM Document Management Seminar
You may have seen our own Ann Marie Przybyla speaking at the February 27 FORUM seminar of Document Management. The seminar addressed the planning needs and preparation that goes into launching a document management program in your institution, and what some of the long-term considerations that need to be made before diving into the project. About 300 people attended the meeting, and the FORUM has made the presentations for the meeting available on their website: http://snipurl.com/1cru9

Email Policy
Ann Marie Przybyla is also helping to lead an initative to develop e-mail management guidance for the state. (You may remember her from the FORUM's November seminar on e-mail.) While still early in the planning process, one of the things that is most crucial to its success is to get agency input and involvement. If you are interested in participating, or know someone in your agency who should be, please contact Ann Marie at (518) 474-5834, or aprzybyl@mail.nysed.gov.

Records Center Updates
As mentioned at the RMO meeting on Monday, the asbestos abatement at the State Records Center is proceeding and we are anticipating it reopening in April. John Welter will be contacting agencies regarding the transfer of records to the state record center once it reopens. Another big piece of news is that plans are moving forward for the acquisition of a satellite record center at Riverview Center in Menands. This space will allow for the storage of an additional 40,000 cubic feet of records and is also expected to open this April.

Training Opportunities
Electronic Document Imaging
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Link: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/WorkShops/training.jsp?id=906

Managing Electronic Records
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Link: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/WorkShops/training.jsp?id=918

Preservation of Electronic Records
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Link: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/WorkShops/training.jsp?id=920

Managing E-Mail Effectively
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Link: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/WorkShops/training.jsp?id=919

Daylight Saving Time
Did you know that it's 'Daylight Saving' and not Daylight Savings'? The dates for Daylight Saving Time have shifted this year to provide an extra month of daylight. We 'sprang ahead' this past Sunday, March 11th. Because of these new changes, there may be hiccups in time-stamped technologies that would normally make the shift automatically on the first Sunday in April. Recommendations issued by CSCIC to help minimize this potential issue include:

Identify all time dependent applications.
Update and apply all appropriate patches (check your product manufacturer.)
Ensure that your users are aware of the change and pay particular attention to calendar entries during the new daylight saving time periods.
Validate that all critical systems have the correct time on March 12th and April 2nd to mitigate any possible issues.

That’s it for this month. Thanks again to everyone who attended the RMO meeting on the 5th! Remember, State Agency Services is here to help make your job easier, so we want to hear from you!

David Lowry
dlowry@mail.nysed.gov
(518) 473-9454

Jennifer O'Neill
joneill@mail.nysed.gov
(518) 473-2112

Sarah Durling
sdurling@mail.nysed.gov
(518) 473-6803

Have a great month!