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: The cooperation and diligent efforts of many records officers and records liaisons made this recent project a success.  Collectively, agencies determined the disposition of over 2,000 cubic feet of records that essentially had been abandoned in the State Records Center.  This project achieved several things.  First, it provides for the destruction of records that have fulfilled their usefulness, thus

Text Box: Special Project to Address Records Overdue for Destruction

Text Box: November 2009

Text Box: New Reference Room Hours

Text Box: Beginning November 30, the Reference Room will be open Tuesday through Friday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  It will be closed on Mondays.  Please keep this in mind if you are authorizing individuals to view your agency’s records through the Reference Room.  These new hours only apply to the Reference Room and not to other VSARA services.

Text Box: Questions or comments?  Email us at

Text Box: We are pleased to announce that a new round of VSARA Open Houses has been scheduled for 2010.  Open Houses are informal training opportunities for records officers and records liaisons which are held at our office in Middlesex.  They generally will be held on the first Tuesday of each month from 9:30 am to 11:00 am, and on the fourth Thursday of each month from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm.  They are typically limited to 5-6 individuals per session. The topic of the Tuesday Open Houses will be Records Retention Policies with a primary focus on records schedules.  The Thursday Open Houses will continue to focus on RIM Fundamentals and State Records Center procedures.   As mentioned, these are informal sessions and we are happy to tailor them to your specific records management needs and interests.  Please bring your questions. To register for an Open House, contact Lydia Mackey at or 828-1018.

Text Box: Open Houses Announced for 2010

Text Box: Tuesday Morning Sessions (9:30 - 11:00 am) January 5 February 2 April 6 May 4 June 1 July 6 August 3 September 7 October 5 November 2 December 7   Thursday Afternoon Sessions(1:30 - 3:00 pm) February 25 March 25 April 22 May 27 June 24 July 22 August 26 September 23 October 28 December 23  

Text Box: 2010 Open House Dates Text Box: As changes occur across state government, please keep VSARA informed if your contact information changes.  We rely on this information to communicate updates, to fulfill record requests, and — most importantly — to track who is authorized to access your agency’s records.  In the event that your status as a records officer or records liaison changes — or if you know of someone whose status has — please notify us immediately.   

Text Box: Keeping Us Up to Date

Text Box: The State Records Center currently holds approximately 90,000 cubic feet of agency records.  This is only a fraction of all of the records that state agencies are responsible for managing.

Text Box: RIM Fact Text Box: Is your agency developing or have plans to develop a scanning or imaging program?  Have you considered creating an email management policy but are not sure where to start?  Several standards and best practices are available to help inform agencies and guide decision-making in relation to some of these types of records management issues.  For more information, please see our “Standards and Best Practices” page on our Web site at http://vermont-archives.org/records/standards/vermont.htm.

Text Box: Spotlight on Standards and Best Practices

Text Box: reducing overall records storage and retrieval costs.  Second, during this review, many agencies prevented important records from being destroyed that otherwise may have been.  Third, and most significantly, this project highlighted numerous instances where existing records policies were shown to no longer meet the needs of particular agencies.  Many agencies are now using this as an opportunity to review their policies in order to develop more efficient and effective methods for managing their records.       We thank everyone who helped on this project and we look forward to similar collaborations as we work together to build better records programs across state government.

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   www.vermont-archives.org