States and Territories

Training for Local Government Officials/Employees

Alaska

Provide training upon request.

Colorado

Workshop training is provided for records management, micrographics, and doing research.

Connecticut

On July 1, 2000, a bill went into effect laying an additional $3.00 fee on all recordings of land records.  Two dollars of the money collected by town clerks goes into a non-lapsing historical documents preservation account.  Thirty percent of that fund is used by the Public Records Administrator to run a grantJuly 13, 2010 program.  On June 6, 2001, a basic paper preservation workshop will be held for town clerks.  A series of training workshops will eventually be developed.

Florida

"Records Management Training Series," for state and local government agencies, scheduled at six locations and times throughout the state, March, 2001.  Also provide specialized workshops for Law Enforcement and local government agencies..

Georgia

The records management staff provide training on basic records management, the Georgia Open Records Act, and the Georgia Records Act.

Illinois

The State Archives provides speakers on archival/records management subjects to the local member meetings that such officials often hold in the state.  Our fundamental strategy, however, is to get historical records out of local courthouses, where their care will always be problematic, and into the IRAD depositories where they can be cared for professionally and where the public researcher can be served in vastly better fashion than they can in local government offices.

Kansas

Applied for and received an NHPRC grant to train and establish county records programs, but the funding was cut from the requested amount, and a cash match is now required, so the grant will likely be declined.

Louisiana

Conduct seminars on conservation and records management.

Maine

Local government have received regrants (both state and NHPRC funded) and some Town Clerks have attended workshops or received consulting visits.  We also provide all local government with a booklet of "Rules for the Disposition of Local Government Records," and once every two years attend the Clerks' Association Annual Meeting to amplify the rules and answer questions.

The State Archives participates in statewide, regional and local conference and seminars offered by several local government organizations and individual local government offices. Session topics include the management of records as well as policies, procedures and guidelines for the use of microfilm, imaging and electronic records.

Missouri

The Local Records Division of the Missouri State Archives responds to local government officials/employees’ training requests on-demand in order to serve the specific needs of varied local entities.  LR staff arranges consultations with local governments to provide training in areas such as environmental conditions, and use of records retention schedules.  Also, the Local Records Preservation Program hosts grant application workshops to help applicants prepare successful proposals.  The workshops include an introductory session on micrographics that is particularly useful to local officials who subsequently apply for funds to microfilm permanent records.

The Judicial Records Program of the Missouri State Archives provides training to probate and circuit court officials/employees on records retention schedules, preparation of records for microfilming, and the microfilming process to finished film product.

The Local Records Retention Schedule is available online at http://www.sos.state.mo.us/archives/localrecs/schedules/

Montana

Occasionally provide training, often through ARMA, sometimes at request of individual local government; currently writing basic records management manual for local government.

Nebraska

Two workshops during this fiscal year offered by the Public Records Archivist through the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO).

Nevada

The NSLA Records management two-day course, "Records and Files Management," (Course description in State Government table) is offered to local government offices upon request.

The SHRAB intends to hold forums to collect information on progress of the Strategic Plan and prepare a grant proposal for the NHPRC to provide funding for training and technical assistance for the archives and records programs statewide that demonstrate the greatest need.  These forums will target the following constituencies: libraries, museums, historical societies and Nevada local and tribal governments.  SHRAB Subcommittees will be formed to hold conference sessions at the following meetings of Nevada professional organizations and their approximate dates:

• Nevada Libraries Association (NLA), October 2001-02
• Nevada Museums Association (NMA), September 2001-02
• Nevada County Fiscal Officers Association (CFOA), June 2001-02
• Nevada League of Cities (NLC), August 2001-02
• Nevada Association of Counties (NACO), November 2001-02
• Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada (ITCN), October or November 2001-02

The focus of the meetings with government organizations will be electronic records and disaster preparedness.  A panel on electronic records will be scheduled for the first year because it will have a better attendance because it is a high interest topic.   The participants will receive copies of the Electronic Document Management and Imaging Systems Guidelines:

An OFFICIAL STATE STANDARD issued May 17, 2000
http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/records/edm2.htm

and the Local Governments Records Manual
http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/records/manual/recman.htm

which includes definitions and standards for electronic records.  The second year a panel will focus on disaster planning and recovery of records.

New Hampshire

The legislature is currently (Jan. 2001) studying HB1151 (2000) which calls for state support to the Archives for training and general enhancement of records and archives practices.

A series of workshops for local records keepers is planned, using funding from the state's Vital Records Improvement Fund.

New Mexico

The Commission of Public Records is continuing a program of Archives and Records Management Training started under an NHPRC grant to the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board that concluded last November.  The courses are offered to government and private repositories at costs of $25- $50.  In addition, training sessions are provided upon request--although generally limited to one-hour presentations.

New York

Two cycles of training (spring and fall) are offered for local governments yearly.

Approximately 15 workshops for local government officials (e.g. clerks of court, registers of deeds, etc.) are held each year on a variety of records management topics.

North Dakota

The State Archives cooperates with the state records management agency.  Training is usually held in conjunction with meeting of county official associations.

By summer 2001, an on-line form will be added that will allow LGR Records Managers to submit revisions or additions to the records manuals.

In addition, the Ohio Electronic Records Committee Web site at http://www.ohiojunction.net/erc/ - has electronic records guidelines.

Oklahoma

Local government records are statutorily exempt from the disposition program of the state Archives and Records Commission.  However, the State Archives and Records Management divisions provide consultative services to local officials upon request.  Moreover, the Oklahoma Historical Records Advisory Board’s program scope and interests include records held by local government.  In addition, the board’s list of grant application priorities includes soliciting, supporting, and endorsing those that “provide effective, efficient and systematic records management and archival programs for local government records.”

Oregon

Oregon has an informative and humorous streaming video presentation, State Records Center to the Rescue, highlighting the benefits of using the State Records Center, which includes detailed instructional material on how place inactive state government records in this facility. Additional printed instructions on transfer procedures are also available. (PDF file) http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/recmgmt.htm

In addition, a series of on-line workshops, Web-Based Records Management Training for Oregon County Government, provide any time, any place training for Records Officers and government employees who manage the retention and disposition of public records in Oregon. Each session contains an audio-video presentation followed by a short 10-question quiz. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/training/training_home.htm

Records retention schedules for state and local government are also available on-line at: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/recmgmt/defaultrecmgmt.html

Pennsylvania

Many state agency staff attend our Annual Archives and Records Management Seminar.  The program concentrates on offering  sessions of interest to state and local government archivists, records managers, officials, and staff.  Many of the topics relate to the use of technology, microfilming, and our Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission grants program.

We also do individual training sessions for local government associations, both regionally and at their annual meetings.  These sessions usually relate to using the local government records schedules, reformatting records, starting a records management/archives program, and applying for a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission grant.

 Our local government manuals are available on the Commission's Web site. We plan to develop several Web-based training courses for our state agencies and/or local governments.  Proposed topics include development of an archives/records management program, reformatting records, disaster planning, electronic files management, and appraisal and the State Archives.

South Carolina

Much of the training is done on-site at agencies and local governments.  State Archives staff also speak at the meetings of many state and local government organizations, e.g., Probate Judges, Financial Officers, etc. and at annual conferences and regional meetings of the state’s premier government records organization, the SC Public Records Association.   (The State Archives uses its relationship with the this organization as a way to expand its outreach.  A State A rchives staff member is on the SCPRA Board, and other staff members devote time to Association activities, including training.

The SC SHRAB provided support for an electronic records speaker, William Saffady, at the SC Public Records Association at the fall, 2000 conference.  The State Archives will begin an NHPRC electronic awareness and training grant in the fall 2001.  Included will be six workshops (basic and advanced) and speakers at the conferences of three professional organizations, two of which are government related: the SC Public Records Association and the SC Information Technology Directors Association.

A State Archives internal team is evaluating delivery of training to state and local government and will soon be reporting on findings and recommendations.  It is basing its report on surveys and consultant findings and recommendations that were part of the SC SHRAB’s recently concluded strategic planning process.

The SC SHRAB Web page has lists of archival and records management resources available at the State Library (purchased with a SC SHRAB regrant) http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/shrab1.htm

The State Archives Web page has a great deal of technical information available for state and local government, http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/statelcl.htm

South Dakota

Have provided workshops on preservation of documents/photos, brought in consultants on photo preservation and disaster recovery (open to the public.)  Organized informal group called "Dakota Archivists" which meets to discuss archival issues of common interest.  Also participates in SHRAB Archives planning project.

May offer workshops/consultant to train board members/public on undetermined educational issues through the SHRAB Planning Grant.

Tennessee

Staging three regional seminars annually for county records-keeping officials and staff on local records management.  Some individuals from this group also attend TN Archives Institutes.

Texas

Basic and specialized training in records management offered by State Library and Archives Commission.  Courses topics include: Control Schedule Basics, Disaster Planning, Electronic Document Imaging, Improving Filing Systems, Forms Management: An Introduction, Managing Electronic Records, Micrographics, and Records Storage Centers: Development and Operation .  Course descriptions are available at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/local/classes.html.

Utah

Last fall, held a series of workshops for city, town, county, school districts, and special districts in Northern Utah; the same are planned for Southern Utah for this spring.

Vermont

Vermont is currently involved in a regrant program, which offers three workshops (on basic archival care, disaster response, and care of photograph collections) designed for a broad audience including local government.

Beyond the workshops, the re-grant also tries to work with the hundreds of small municipal clerks offices, local historical societies, etc. by providing on-site, hands on training experiences built into actual work on local holdings.  For example, assessment/survey grants provide an archivist consultant who visits the grant recipient and, working with local staff, conducts a needs assessment survey.  The recipients receive some training as part of the assessment (for example learning about environmental standards, security, etc.) and then have to use the assessment report to develop an active management plan for addressing the identified needs in a priority order.

Arrangement and description grants provide local institutions with an archival consultant for up to five days who will work with local staff in processing a collection of their choice.  The ideal model is having the consultant work with the staff to begin the project, then step away for an agreed period of time to allow the staff to apply the practices learned during the first session.  The consultant then returns to answer questions that arose during the unsupervised period and to help bring the processing to completion.

The Vermont SHRAB's experience suggests that workshops are important for presenting basic principles and practice, but to move toward actual implementation on-site, hands-on work is key (even the workshops, when possible, involve hands-on work; the disaster response workshops begin with participants responding to a staged "disaster" setting including water soaked paper, film, and disks in a room without lights).

The SHRAB also recognizes in our environment of hundreds of independent and under-resourced institutions developing local networks for collaborative efforts and mutual support is important.  Therefore both the needs assessment and arrangement and description grants have parallel programs which encourage collaborative projects.  There are two such projects currently underway; one involves the local municipal office, historical society, natural history museum, academic academy, and library; the other the municipal office, local library, local historical society, and local newspaper.

An idea being explored for the summer of 2001 is a joint project involving the SHRAB and a statewide museum organization to hold a disaster response "camp" at which participants will be trained in disaster response and then form the core of regional disaster response programs (partnership is also being pursued with the state and federal emergency response programs).

Virginia

The Records Management and Imaging Services Division at the Library of Virginia offers a variety of workshops for records officers across the state, including sessions on basic and intermediate records management, disaster planning, electronic records, and document imaging.  The state archivist and deputy coordinator traveled to Roanoke for a meeting of local archivists (as part of the NFACE project) and discussed the need for additional training, especially in the western half of the state.  This need has likewise been discussed with the State Historical Records Advisory Board, which may offer training opportunities in conjunction with meetings during the coming year.

Washington

Provide Records Management workshops.

Wisconsin

Provide occasional workshops on request.

Wyoming

The State Archives has co-sponsored with the Wyoming Chapter of ARMA International, or sponsored by itself, various seminars through the years.  During the last few years, the major seminars with larger attendance, have related to the retention, management, and disposition of electronic records, and various topics relating to data processing technologies including E-Commerce and E-Signatures.  One scheduled for Feb. 8 is titled: E-mail and Other Electronic Records in Litigation, and will include Archivists in attendance.  However, all of these seminars include messages about the disposition and permanent preservation of electronic and non-electronic records. 

These are provided at least twice a year, and are offered free-of-charge to state and local government employees. The State Archives has taken the lead role in training people about the State's E-mail policy, as the Governor's Executive Order mandated training.  At these workshops, additional information is provided concerning the preservation and disposition of all electronic media.

Guidelines, instructions, retention schedules, and a variety of resources are published on our Web site, to provide guidance and assistance to archivists, administrators, managers, records and information officers, and IT specialists, at all levels and branches of government in Wyoming. http://wyoarchives.state.wy.us/