Managing Records: Services for State Agencies: Newsletters
Archived Newsletters: November 2007
Welcome to the November issue of the New York State Archives’ State Agency RMO newsletter!
The 2007 Annual Archives Award for Excellence in State Agency Records Management
The Board of Regents and the New York State Archives recently awarded the 2007 Annual Archives Award for Excellence in State Agency Records Management to the New York State Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation. The award recognizes the Thruway Authority and the Canal Corporation for its outstanding records management program and commends them for their remarkable efforts to inventory and develop agency-wide retention schedules over the past few years, as well as for consolidating schedules from divisions across the state into common divisional schedules used by both units. Congratulations go out to RMO Diane Galuski and her staff.
Upcoming Fall 2007 Workshops
Disaster Planning & Response - Tuesday, December 4th (spaces available!)
To register, please visit: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/WorkShops/workshopsDetailServlet?owner=LG&cat=season&subject=Fall
Planning for Spring 2008 Workshops
The New York State Archives is currently planning its spring 2008 workshop season. Please follow the link below to answer a survey that will help us determine which workshops to offer, based on agency interests and needs. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Durling at sdurling@mail.nysed.gov or 518-473-6803. The Survey will run through Friday, November 9th. As always, your time and interest is appreciated! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Am6e_2fEuYIMAoY5ZO6Jdqeg_3d_3d
Don’t Forget! Daylight Saving Time Ends
Did you know that daylight saving time first saw widespread adoption in 1916 as a means to conserve coal? Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, so don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour when you leave on Friday (or before you go to sleep on Saturday!)
Security Tips : Hoaxes and Urban Legends
This month’s security tip comes from CSCIC’s Hoaxes and Urban Legends circular. We’ve all at one time or another received a chain letter promising good luck or material rewards if we forward it on, get rich quick schemes disguised as pleas from deposed royalty, and tales of unspeakable horror that are caused by using our favorite products in unorthodox ways. While these missives can usually be easily identified as fraudulent annoyances, some may have a more malicious purpose such as to harvest addresses, to spread viruses, to attempt to defraud the recipient.
If you suspect an email is a hoax or urban legend, there are a number of websites that you can check to verify their validity. Some of these pages are as follows:
- Urban Legends and Folklore - http://urbanlegends.about.com/
- Urban Legends Reference Pages - http://www.snopes.com/
- Hoaxbusters - http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org
- TruthOrFiction.com - http://www.truthorfiction.com/
- Symantec Security Response Hoaxes - http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
- McAfee Security Virus Hoaxes - http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
To protect your organization, call your help desk if you get an email warning about a virus, or if you experience this at home, run your own anti-virus. Do not circulate warnings or suspect messages without first checking with an authoritative source. Don't forward chain letters or open any email attachments unless you know what it is--even if it's from someone you know and trust, and keep your anti-virus software up to date for added protection in case there are viruses attached.
That’s it for this month! Please feel free to contact the State Agency Services Staff listed below if you have any questions or comments. We can help make your job easier by answering questions, doing site visits, and providing training.
Jennifer O'Neill
joneill@mail.nysed.gov
(518) 473-2112
Sarah Durling
sdurling@mail.nysed.gov
(518) 473-6803
Have a fantastic November!
