Managing Records

as effective April 1, 2022

§ 185.1  Definitions. 

As used in this Part: 

(a) Records management officer means the local officer charged with the responsibility to develop and coordinate the local records management program in accordance with section 57.19 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law.

Local Government Historian Law

§ 57.07. Local historian; appointment; maintenance of historical edifices.

1. A local historian shall be appointed, as provided in this section, for each city, town or village, except that in a city of over one million inhabitants a local historian shall be appointed for each borough therein instead of for the city at large; and a county historian may be appointed for each county. Such historian shall be appointed as follows:

Section

State agencies and local governments are facing new and unparalleled challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

How staff manage records and data generally is no different - all government officials and employees must comply with established policies and procedures, including retention schedules issued by the State Archives.

Staff are likely preoccupied with managing essential functions during this time and records management might not be high on anyone’s priority list.

However, with an increase in remote work, there are some key points to keep in mind:

The New York government response to the COVID-19 public health emergency – at both the state and local level – has resulted in an unprecedented level of documentation, as well as a unique opportunity to ensure the essential evidence of government activity and its impact on communities across the state is preserved and accessible for future generations.

State agencies and local governments continue to provide essential services to the public during these extraordinary and historic times. The government response to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some challenges and opportunities regarding managing public records. We have issued the following guidance to support government entities statewide in meeting their records management responsibilities. Contact the Government Records Services (recmgmt@nysed.gov) for additional assistance.

State Archives records retention and disposition schedules do not cover non-government records, including the records of non-profit organizations, commercial ventures, and private individuals. Retention requirements relating to non-government records may, however, be found in certain state or federal laws or in contractual agreements. In addition, non-government entities can consult and adopt (as appropriate) State Archives retention requirements, because the legal basis for retaining records for a certain period of time is frequently the same for government and non-government records. 

Legislative Law requires the “secretary or clerk of each house” to maintain all “legislative papers and documents” of their respective houses and identifies the retention periods for specific Senate and Assembly records (per Legislative Law §22, §22-a, and §22-b). The law also indicates that any house of the legislature that wants to dispose of records must first notify the Commissioner of Education and allow the Commissioner to assess the materials for potential historical value.

While retention periods for records of New York City offices, boroughs, and public administrators are established by the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), all other local governments located in New York City, including counties, school districts and public benefit corporations, use retention schedules issued by the Archives for records other than court records.