First observed in 2012 by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), Electronic Records Day is a yearly reminder for state government agencies that electronic records have unique preservation characteristics — whether for extended periods or until you are done using them.

Explore best practices in metadata management

Dive into the nuances of electronic records management by attending CoSA’s Electronic Records Day presentation for a conversation about metadata — the information behind your files.

This presentation, which will take place Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. (PT), will cover various practices and strategies for managing metadata standards and input for born-digital records. Register online here.

What shape is a cloud server?

Before the ubiquity of electronic records, paper records were organized in a box and put in offsite storage when their active use ended. Since most records today are created digitally, the handy banker’s box has been replaced by a cloud storage server somewhere in Montana.

This lack of physical structure can disrupt our human ability to organize, so having a set file structure that your entire team follows can help keep you on the right track. If each team member individually keeps copies of important documents on their laptop, it is much harder to maintain effective control, and that makes it difficult to determine which copy is the official record.

Records security is in your hands

Please take an hour on Thursday, Oct. 10, to delete some transitory emails and move documents off your computer’s hard drive and into Box, OnBase or SharePoint. These UCOP-approved storage locations are regularly backed up —unlike the files on your desktop or in your documents folder and/or recycle bin. These files, stored on your computer’s hard drive, may be accessed by bad actors if your laptop is lost or stolen.

For more guidance, review the following resources:

• Records Management Training Materials
• Records Tip Sheets
• Consult the UC Retention Schedule if you don’t know how long to keep certain types of documents or email records@ucop.edu for guidance.

A note of caution: Work with your department manager to coordinate purging of any documents. Do not discard records that are the subject of a litigation hold or other records freeze, or that have been requested pursuant to the California Public Records Act, an investigation, an ongoing audit or other legal process. If you have questions about whether records are required to be preserved for legal reasons, please contact UC Legal.

For questions, contact neil.ramos@ucop.edu.

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