In a presentation back in 2007, Alan Cote, the Massachusetts Supervisor of
Records, wrote that among the biggest risks exposing the government to
incomplete records is that governmental "[e]xeutives, managers and
staff are not properly trained in [the] implication of the records they
create... and that "IT [Information Technology] staff are not trained
in records management requirements." Given the weight of the Supervisor's experience and what we've witnessed ourselves over the past near-decade, we cannot take for granted that the Town understands how to properly manage its records. It may, but we cannot assume this to be so. We say this not necessarily out of distrust of the government -- though we feel that citizens have a sacred and inalienable obligation to not trust any government -- but out of the reality of what has transpired over the past decade.
In particular, the advent of electronic media has completely turned the preservation, tracking, organization and retrieval of public records inside-out and upside-down. And there hasn't been very good recovery from such a discombobulated position.
Just how bad has this electronic nightmare made public records retention, organization, and retrieval? In the busy, overworked, under-staffed world of municipal government, there can be email received by and sent from Blackberries, laptops, personal home computers, and office desktop computers. Multiple email accounts may be used by staff, elected officials and volunteers: official email addresses, home email addresses, plus a variety of Yahoo/Gmail/Hotmail accounts may be additional. Documents can be created on a variety of computers both in the office and at home, with both public and private ownership of the devices used. Different formats, different versions of creation software, different platforms has decentralized control over data, resulting in a modern-age version of the Tower of Babel that resists organizing at every turn.
How can a Records Custodian assure that all records have been captured and handled according to the State Public Records Law? Cote maintains that this is no easy job. He points out that "Records Custodian is no longer a ministerial duty of filing paper in boxes and storing." Each department must have its own Custodian. In his presentation, he writes that the "Records Custodian should be General Counsel, CFO or higher ranking officer who can manage the increased responsibilities related to Records Management."
These are complex tasks that must be accomplished, one that requires special training and knowledge, and a commitment to full compliance with the Public Records Law. It is a moving target with technology changing quickly, and employees and volunteers needing to be constantly updated.
Concord's fairly brief Administrative Policy and Procedure # 50 ("Use of Electronic Mail") specifically deals with email. Committee members, who always use home email and computers, are given all of a two-paragraph set of instructions. Use of personal/home email addresses and equipment as well as PDA's by staff do not seem to be covered.
Is it no surprise then that retrieving email to fulfill public records requests is estimated to take so long and be so costly, given the underlying policies that govern their ongoing organization and retention? It may be time to take a good, hard look at these policies and procedures, and give them a rigorous updating.
