E-Mail

How long should I keep E-Mail?

1.15.2.303 NMAC, ELECTRONIC MAIL

What is e-mail?

A document created or received on an electronic mail system including brief notes, more formal or substantive narrative documents, and any attachments, such as word processing and other electronic documents, which may be transmitted with the message

How Long Should I Keep E-Mail?

Just as long as you would keep any other mail!

Why should I care how long I keep it?

To make your life easier!

O.K. What do I do?

figure out what in your e-mail are non-record materials

identify how long you should keep records with a finite retention value

identify permanent and archival transfer records

Non-Record materials-Delete at Will!

extra copies of correspondence and other documents preserved only for convenience of reference;

blank forms; materials neither made nor received in pursuance

of statutory requirement nor in connection with the functional responsibility of the office/agency;

preliminary drafts of letters, reports, and memoranda which do not represent significant basic steps in preparation of record documents; and

form and guide letters, sample letters, form paragraphs.

Official Records - Retain as Required

Records with a finite retention - Retain according to established (filed, promulgated) records retention and disposition schedules.

Records w/permanent or a transfer to Archives for review retention - Retain until ready to transfer (refer to RRDS).

Frequently Asked Questions About E-Mail Retention

Can I print messages, then delete them? What about draft documents that undergo several

revisions? What do I do with attachments I receive with e-

mail? What about multiple copies of the same

document? Where can I get help to organize my e-mail

mailboxes & folders?

Definitions

Electronic information system

Electronic mail system

Electronic mail message

Electronic record keeping system

Record Record Copy Records

Schedule Transmission

and receipt data

Functional Requirements for Record-keeping Systems

1. must allow for the grouping of related records, to insure their proper context

2. must make records accessible to authorized staff, to insure their usefulness to the agency

3. must preserve records for their authorized retention period, to insure their availability for agency use, to preserve the rights of the government and citizens, and to allow agencies to be held accountable for their actions

An E-Mail Management System

E-mail with transitory informational value (non-record, subject files, personal) [Delete at will]

E-mail records with established finite retention value[Delete by schedule]

E-mail records with permanent retention value [Maintained by the custodial agency or transferred to the NM archives]

1.15.2.101 NON-RECORD MATERIALS (all staff– hard drives) 

1.15.2.102 SUBJECT FILES (all staff – hard drives, servers-) 

1.15.2.103 PRIMARY MISSION RECORDS (administrator’s office only– hard drives) 

1.15.2.104 AGENCY ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS (administrator’s office only– hard drives, courtesy copy on server)

 1.15.2.105 ADMINISTRATIVE RULES (administrator’s office only– hard drives, courtesy copy on server)

 1.15.2.106 ADMINISTRATIVE FILES -EXECUTIVE LEVELS (administrator’s office, administrative staff)

 1.15.2.107 ADMINISTRATIVE REFERENCE FILES -NON-EXECUTIVE LEVELS (all non-executive staff)

1.15.2.119 MINUTES OF MEETING (administrator’s office only– hard drives, courtesy copy on server)

 1.15.2.120 APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT FILE (HR office only – hard drive):

 1.15.2.121 PUBLIC RELATIONS FILE (administrator’s office only– hard drives, courtesy copy on server)

 

E-mail with transitory informational value

(non-record, subject files, personal) 1.15.2.101 Non-Record Material (Personal E-Mail) Family 2003 [Delete at will] 2004 [Delete at will] Colleagues 2003 [Delete at will] 2004 [Delete at will]   1.15.2.101 Non-Record Material Filing System Ideas, Reviews 2003 [Delete at will] 2004 [Delete at will] National Association of Bureaucrats Newsletter Meeting Notices 2001 [Delete at will] 2002 [Delete at will]

E-mail records with established finite retention value [Delete/dispose per schedule & per 1.13.30.1 NMAC

Destruction of Public Records] 

]1.15.2.108 ADMINISTRATIVE CORRESPONDENCE FILES - EXECUTIVE LEVELS FY2004 Governor Richardson’s Office [Transfer to Archives 7/1/06] Bernalillo, County of [Transfer to Archives 7/1/06] FY2005 Governor Richardson’s Office [Transfer to Archives 7/1/07] Bernalillo, County of [Transfer to Archives 7/1/07] 1.15.2.109 GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE FILES - NON-EXECUTIVE LEVELS FY2004 Governor Richardson’s Office [Destroy 7/1/05] Bernalillo, County of [Destroy 7/1/05] FY2005 Governor Richardson’s Office [Destroy 7/1/06] Bernalillo, County of [Destroy 7/1/06]

E-mail records with permanent retention value

1.15.2.114 MANUALS OF PROCEDURES 1. Agency copy on server [delete when superseded by new manual] 2. SRCA copy [permanent – transfer to Archives – when?? When created? When superseded? – when??]

End Note

major element in the definition of a public record – “documents an official transaction”