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Records Management

The State Records Management Program’s mission is to promote the efficiency and continuity of state government, document the rights of Missouri citizens, and preserve our state's heritage by providing state agencies with the necessary instruments to develop effective and efficient information control. Services are provided at no charge to state agencies though savings to state government more than offset the cost of the program. Organizationally, the Records Management Program consists of three components: Records Analysis and Consultation, the State Records Center, and Imaging Services.

Records Analysis and Consultation

Sound records management programs consist of a planned and coordinated set of policies, procedures and activities to manage recorded information. The professional Records Analysis staff, comprised of Records Analysts and Electronic Records Archivists, is an invaluable resource to state agencies. The Analysts and Electronic Records Archivists help to develop records management policies and guidelines, and provide the expertise and knowledge to assist agencies in operating effective and efficient records management programs.

Records Tracking Software

The State of Missouri Agency Records Tracking (SMART) system is a web-based system that provides state agency customers with online access to the services of the Division. SMART allows agencies to: view/update agency records disposition schedules, create/view/request/transfer boxes or files for their particular agency to/from the State Records Center, and view and request copies of rolls of microfilm stored in the microfilm vault.

In February 2010, the Records Management Division upgraded SMART to the newest version of software from the vendor. The process took three months and the installation only required that the system be down for 24 hours.

SMART was designed to reduce the turnaround time for updating and creating agency records retention schedules, allow agencies to easily integrate their retention schedule into electronic records management systems, and give agencies easier access to their holdings in the records center. In FY10, 282 additional people were trained to use the system, 909 record series were created or updated, 30,282 boxes were added to the system, 524,981 files were created and assigned to boxes and 1,601 rolls of microfilm were added to the system. Several state agencies that adopted the system also started using it to internally track files.

Records Retention and Disposition

A major key to managing records is determining how long to keep them and when they can be destroyed after their active usage has diminished. Records retention is based on the life-cycle concept: like other resources, the value of most information tends to decline over time. Records need to be kept for as long as they are needed to support administrative, legal and fiscal functions, but no longer. A few records, typically less than one percent of those created in a given year, should be retained permanently because of their historical significance. Historically significant records are stored for a period of time within the State Records Center during agency use. Eventually these records are transferred to the Missouri State Archives for preservation and to give access to the general public.

The primary tool for documenting these determinations is the Records Disposition Schedule. The Records Analysis staff works closely with state agency officials to identify categories of agency records and incorporate them into an Agency Records Disposition Schedule. Once the agency identifies one or more series of records, the analysts and archivists meet with agency officials to determine how long the records are needed to meet business functions. They research statutes, regulatory codes and similar records series in states across the nation. The analysts work with agencies to prepare draft disposition schedules, which include the records series title, a clear description of the records and how they are used, and the retention and disposition instructions after the records become inactive.

After reaching consensus with the agency, the analysts take the proposed Agency Records Disposition Schedulesbefore the State Records Commission for discussion, necessary revisions and approval. Once approved by the Commission, the schedule serves as the legal authority for the agency to either destroy obsolete records or transfer historical records to the Missouri State Archives. The staff currently maintains more than 860 agency records retention and disposition schedules, including the general schedules that apply to all state agencies.

State Records Commission Meeting

The State Records Commission determines how long records must be maintained in order to serve the needs of government. Once the records have met their retention requirements, the Commission determines their proper disposition either by destruction or transfer to the Missouri State Archives. The State Records Commission met on October 27, 2009. During the meeting 40 agency schedules were approved.

The agency specific schedules approved by the Commission were from the Attorney General’s Office (1); Secretary of State (1); Missouri Ethics Commission (1); MOSERS (1); Department of Agriculture (9); Department of Health and Senior Services (2); Department of Public Safety (10); Department Revenue (2); Department of Natural Resources (8); and the Department of Corrections (5).

Records Management Liaison Meeting

On January 21, 2010, the Records Management Division hosted an all agency records management liaison meeting. The meeting topics were informing agencies of the new features that would be available with the SMART system upgrade, and to prepare agencies for a Records Center shutdown in the Fall of 2010 to consolidate the records center annexes into a new building.

Staff Training and Development

During FY10, the professional staff continued developing their knowledge and understanding of records management concepts and new developments, particularly related to electronic records and technology. Staff attended the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) Central Missouri Chapter Meetings and Spring Seminar. Staff provided training to multiple state agencies and other organizations as well. Staff members spoke at the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Nebraska Chapter of ARMA International.

State Records Center

Many records may be retained for years after they are no longer used on a daily basis. The inactive life of a record can range anywhere from two-years to 75-years or more after its period of active use. In fact, some historical records must be maintained permanently. Records that are on a Records Disposition Schedule and have reached an inactive status may be stored within the State Records Center.

The State Records Center saves the state money by providing offsite storage at a much lower cost per cubic foot than storage in agency office space. The storing agency can request records whenever they are needed, and return them for refiling. Records are stored in a secure facility, protected against unauthorized access, environmental hazards, pests, and fire. The Records Center also tracks the retention periods of stored records, ensuring that records that no longer have any value are disposed of as soon as they are eligible and the agency approves the disposition form.

While the Records Center is the physical custodian, the transferring agency maintains proprietary control over its records while they are stored in the State Records Center. State agencies with an approvedrecords retention and disposition schedule are eligible to store records in the State Records Center.

Facilities

The State Records Center operated three separate facilities in FY10. The Kirkpatrick State Information Center (KSIC) is the main facility. The KSIC’s climate-controlled environment was designed for the protection and preservation of long-term records (those with a retention of more than ten years) and permanent records. The facility holds 141,342 cubic feet of records. The KSIC facility has been near capacity since 1995. KSIC can only accept new records into the facility as eligible disposable records are removed.

 
State Records Center Storage

The two annex facilities do not have air conditioning, so records stored in these facilities experience the extremes of Missouri’s temperature and humidity changes. Annex 1, located off Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City, can house 76,480 cubic feet of records and opened in 1995. Annex 2, located on Jaycee Drive in Jefferson City, opened in July 2001 and has a total capacity of 108,024 cubic feet of storage. The maximum capacity of the three facilities is 325,846 boxes.

Holdings

Total accessions for FY09 were 26,196 cubic feet of records. Staff recycled 14,218 cubic feet of records that had met their retention requirements, for a net gain of 11,978 boxes.

As of June 30, 2010, the State Records Center held 301,201 cubic feet of records. Many of these records are long-term confidential records that may never be transferred to the Missouri State Archives. The holdings belong to approximately 318 business units within state agencies. The following chart illustrates the volume of records stored by the fifteen most active state departments.

Cost Comparison

To illustrate the cost savings of storing records in the State Records Center, assume that all 26,196 boxes received in FY10 in the Records Center are to be retained for five years. In reality, many of the boxes will be retained longer. The following table compares the cost of storing files in the records center versus storing them in filing cabinets in an agency’s office for just the five year period. The assumptions are based on:

• The average cost of a four drawer letter sized file cabinet, the floor area required to place and access files in cabinets, and a statewide average cost of leased office space of $10.24 per square foot, the estimated annual cost of storing one cubic foot of records in an office environment is $13.03.
• The average per year cost to store a cubic foot box of records in the State Records Center is $1.15.
•  The cost to process and destroy a box of files $0.61.

Cost Comparison:
Storage in the State Records Center v. Agency Office Space

These savings are based solely on the records accessioned in FY09 and do not reflect the savings for the additional 275,005 boxes held at all three facilities.

Courier Services

Records Center personnel schedule pick-up and delivery services of boxes for agencies within Jefferson City. Agencies outside of Jefferson City are responsible for arranging for their own records shipments. Agencies may request individual files, which are returned through inner-agency mail in Jefferson City and through the postal service for those outside Jefferson City. Agencies are responsible for returning the files.

Servicing the Records

Agencies retain full access to their records in the State Records Center. If an agency needs files from its boxes, a Records Center clerk retrieves the file and sends it to the agency. When the agency returns the file, a staff member refiles it in the appropriate box. These processes are referred to as “pull/refile requests.” On average, Records Management processes 61,769 pull/refile requests each year to support state agencies’ performance of their missions. All these services are provided at no cost to state agencies. In addition to these requests, numerous state agencies pull and refile their own files using their own staff.

Records Center Growth

The requirement for economical paper records storage will continue throughout the next 40 years. Computers and electronic forms of communicating and transacting business have been common in offices for over 20 years. At one time it was thought that the advent of computers would lead to the idea of the “paperless office,” where paper files and records could be eliminated or greatly reduced. The reality is that technology has created a proliferation of paper, mostly based on the ease of creation and duplication.

As the amount of information contained in electronic systems continues to increase, so too does the amount of paper records generated in relation to that electronic data. The following graph illustrates storage holdings in the State Records Center over the past 8 years.

State Records Center Holdings:

FY03 through FY10

Records Management staff work diligently to limit the rate of growth in Records Center holdings by prompt destruction of eligible records, and by reviewing agency disposition schedules to shorten retention periods, when appropriate. Nevertheless, the holdings continue to grow. Annex 2 stopped receiving new boxes in September 2009, leaving only limited space at Annex 1 for future storage. Expectations are that by July 2010, new storage boxes will only be allowed into the records center as other boxes eligible for destruction are removed from the records center.

The Records Management Division believes that the most effective means to deal with this problem is to consolidate the two annexes in a location that allows for future growth. Records Management first proposed a Records Center Campus in 2000. Although it was considered favorably at the time, budget situations prevented it from being advanced beyond the initial stages.

In FY10, Records Management worked with the Secretary of State’s Administration and the Office of Administration to secure a new records center building. After attempting to purchase a building in previous years, it was decided the best course of action was to lease a building. A lease was secured in the last half of FY10. Once the lease was secured Records Management staff began working on plans to move what was expected to be approximately 179,000 boxes and 2,292 shelving units. The move is anticipated to begin in late October and take up to two months.

Imaging Services

Microfilm is an excellent storage medium for the preservation of long-term and historically significant records. Digital imaging is a great tool for accessing and disseminating information quickly to multiple users. Both have advantages and disadvantages that must be weighed when deciding how to best care for and manage information resources within an organization. 

The Imaging Services Section has operated a full-service microfilm laboratory since 1967. Services include source document microfilming, microfilm processing and duplication, rigorous quality assurance testing and storage within a state-of-the-art environmentally controlled vault. In 2008, Imaging Services acquired digital equipment and reconfigured the production floor to begin the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative.

Digital Imaging Services

In FY10, the partnership with the State Archives and State Library to scan images as part of the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative continued. Imaging Services provides content for the Missouri Digital Heritage Website that is supplied by various organizations through the Archives and Library.

Scanning Death Certificates

In FY10, staff scanned 1,613,552 images as part of the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative. Some of the projects included Official Missouri State Manuals, Missouri Governor’s Papers, Confederate Home Records, Provost Marshal Records, 1959 Death Certificates and the Missouri Red Books. The images were scanned from paper documents and rolls of microfilm.

Microfilming Services

The Records Management Division continues to microfilm records for state agencies. Microfilm is used by agencies who want to preserve historical documents, to provide access to older documents without damaging the originals, and for agencies that do not have the funds to purchase or maintain imaging systems, but have a need to maintain records in offices with limited storage space. During FY10, Imaging Services filmed 1,601 rolls of microfilm producing 3,150,094 images.

Processing, Duplication, and Quality Assurance

In addition to processing and duplicating film the unit has created, staff processes and duplicates film created by state agencies. Technicians visually inspect each roll of microfilm and conduct tests for density and resolution. If defects are found during this inspection, the film is rejected and the project is re-filmed. During FY10, technicians processed 3,421 rolls of microfilm and duplicated 10,050 rolls.

Vault Storage

The microfilm vault is kept at a constant temperature of 58° (plus or minus 2°) with a constant humidity level of 35% (plus or minus 2%). If either the temperature or the humidity level fluctuates past the plus or minus 2 mark, an alarm sounds and service technicians are immediately dispatched. Properly stored film, such as that within the vault, should have a usable life of at least 500 years. Currently, more than 259,102 rolls of microfilm are stored in the vault.

State Records Commission

The seven-member State Records Commission was created by state statute (RSMo 109.250). The Commission determines how long records must be maintained in order to serve the needs of government. Once the records have met their retention requirements, the Commission determines their proper disposition either by destruction or transfer to the Missouri State Archives

State Records Commission Members – FY10