Text Box: Vermont State Archives and Records Administration

Text Box: OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

Text Box: Records and Information Management Update

Text Box: Upcoming Training on Protecting State and Local Government Records             

Text Box: Fall 2010

Text Box: The average document gets copied 19 times! Source:  Accounting Firm Coopers and Lybrand

Text Box: Questions or comments?  Email us at rim@sec.state.vt.us

Text Box: Open houses are held at the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration twice a month.  At these events we provide informal, basic training in records management and using the State Records Center, as well as giving our users the opportunity to tour our facilities and meet staff here at VSARA.  We encourage new records officers and liaisons, or anyone who has never been to VSARA, to attend!  We tailor our open houses to meet the needs of attendees, so call or email today to schedule a visit!   Tuesday Morning Sessions  (9:30 - 11:00 am)   October 5 November 2 December 7   Thursday Afternoon Sessions (1:30 - 3:00 pm)   September 23 October 28 December 23   Email us at rim@sec.state.vt.us or call Rachel Muse at 828-2397 if you’d like to attend an open house.

Text Box: 2010 Open House Dates Text Box: In October, 2009, Governor Douglas proclaimed the month of October as Cyber Security Awareness Month in the state of Vermont, joining 48 other states to promote cyber security awareness in schools, businesses, and to individual citizens around the country. Cyber security is one area where every person, doing their part, can make a significant difference in the security stance of our state and nation. To learn more about how you can help to protect your work and home data, please check out the State of Vermont Cyber Security Website at: http://itsecurity.vermont.gov.   The site is updated frequently, so be sure to check back for more information. Also, if there is a topic of interest that you would like discussed on the website, please send a response email and we will address your topic.

Text Box: October is Cyber Security Awareness Month!

Text Box: Are You Using General Schedules? .. Text Box: Vermont State Archives and Records Administration 1078 US RTE 2, Middlesex ● Montpelier, VT 05633-7701 ● Tel: (802) 828-3700 ● Fax: (802) 828-3710 http://vermont-archives.org/     http://vermont-archives.org/     

Text Box: VSARA has developed a series of General Record Schedules to provide guidance on records retention and maintenance to Vermont public agencies for those records that are common to many, if not all, state agencies.  Any agency may adopt these schedules to use as part of their records management program.  Adopting a General Record Schedule means that the agency agrees to implement, at a minimum, the retention and disposition requirements outlined in the schedule.  The agency does NOT have to create or receive all the records listed in the schedules they adopt.  Agencies that adopt these schedules should develop internal policies that will outline the use of the schedules throughout the agency or office, particularly drawing attention to any unique requirements within the office that require the records to be retained longer than the retention set on the schedule. To learn more about the General Record Schedules currently available visit: http://vermont-archives.org/records/schedules/general/ or call Rachel Muse at 828-2397.    

Text Box: VSARA, Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) and the Department of Information and Innovation (DII) have teamed together and are participating in a nationwide effort, the Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) project, to develop and deliver training to state and local governments about how to protect essential records during emergencies.  The project is supported by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and coordinated by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA). Through IPER, Vermont state and local governments will be taught how to protect essential records — whether paper or electronic — before, during, and after disasters.  A special focus of the training will be on records that protect the health, safety, and property of citizens as well as those that are essential for the resumption of government operations after a disaster.   The IPER curriculum is based on existing Federal training with adaptations designed to address the requirements and circumstance unique to state and local governments.  VSARA, VEM and DII will be offering two courses. The Essential Records course teaches participants to identify and prioritize critical records, assess risks to their records, and mitigate those risks to protect records.  The Records Emergency Planning and Response course provides instruction for documenting essential records in Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP), constructing and testing Records Emergency Action Plans, and developing response plans to recover damaged records after an emergency. All courses are FEMA-certified.   Dates and locations for the courses have not yet been set, so watch your inbox for updates.  To learn more about the IPER Project, visit http://www.statearchivists.org/iper/ or contact Rachel Muse at rachel.muse@sec.state.vt.us or 828-2397.  

Text Box: RIM Fast Fact Text Box: Do you have a records management experience you’d like to share?  A success story or a lesson learned?  A general records management question you’d like to see answered in the RIM Update?  Send your anecdotes, questions and suggestions to: rim@sec.state.vt.us. 

Text Box: We Want Your Input!