Publications and Advice Sheets for Government

Click to expand each topic...

Archives Advisory Committee...

• What Is the Archives Advisory Committee?

 

Basics of Records Management...

• Benefits of Managing Public Records
• Laws and Rules for Records Management

• What is a Public Record?

Destroying Non-Archival Records...

• Are Agencies Required to Destroy Their Non-Archival Records?
• Can Agencies Donate Rather Than Destroy Their Records?
• Documenting the Destruction of Public Records

• Methods for Destroying Electronic Records
• Methods for Destroying Paper Records
• Strategies for Giving Notice of Destruction of Special Education (SpEd) Records

Developing Records Retention Schedules...

• Checklist for Evaluating New/Updated Records Series
• Checklist for Updating the Front Page of Schedules - ( Visual Guide )
• How Archival Designations Are Determined/Changed
• How Are Records Retention Periods Determined
• How Schedules Affecting More Than One Agency Are Updated
• How to Complete the Summary of Changes

• How to Describe Records Series Using an Excludes Statement
• How to Format Designations
• How to Format Records Series Titles and Descriptions
• Preparing State Agency Schedules for Submission
• State Agency Schedule Approval Process
• Who Approves Records Retention Schedules?

Disaster Preparedness...

• Are Fire-Proof Safes/Cabinets Required?
• Basics of Preparing for Disasters
• Benefits of Preparing for Disasters
• Disaster Preparation Checklist
• Disaster Preparedness Worksheet

• How to Find Which Records are Designated as "Essential"
• Selecting Appropriate Records Storage
• Supplies and Services Disaster Response Checklist
• What Does an "Essential" Designation Mean?

Disaster Response...

• What to Do with Wet Paper Records

Electronic Records Management...

• Appropriate Use of Portable Media (CDs, DVDs, Flash Drives)
• Are Emails Public Records?
• Are Generative AI Interactions Public Records?
• Are Social Media Posts Public Records?
• Are Student Emails Public Records?
• Are Text Messages Public Records?
• Are Voicemails Public Records?
• Basics of Managing Electronic Records
• Basics of Managing Social Media Records
• Basics of Managing Text Messages
• Basics of Managing Voicemail Records
• Can Meeting Recordings Be Deleted After Meeting Minutes Have Been Approved?
• Can Paper Records Be Destroyed After Imaging/Scanning?
• Can Records Be Encrypted?
• Capture and Retention of Text Messages
• Checklist for Evaluating Records Retention Capabilities in Software
• Considerations for Adopting E-Signatures
• Do Agency Meetings Need to Be Recorded?
• Examples of Retention for Common Types of Social Media Posts
• Factors Affecting the Cost of Digitizing Paper Records
• Hard Drives and Multipurpose Copies/Scanners
• How Long Do Backups Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Chat/Instant Messaging Records Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Database Records Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Emails Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Generative AI Records Need to Be Kept?

• How Long Do Meeting Recordings Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Migration Process Records Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Social Media "Likes" Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Social Media Posts Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Text Messages Need to Be Kept?
• How Long Do Voicemails Need to Be Kept?
• How to Do a Bulk Email Clean-Up Project
• Keep Electronic Records in Electronic Format
• Keep the Last Email or All Emails in the Thread?
• Managing Public Records Created or Received as Text Messages
• Meat Cleaver Method for Bulk Email Clean-Up
• Options for Digitizing Large Format Records
• Sampling Analysis for Bulk Email Clean-Up
• Search and Destroy Method for Bulk Email Clean-Up
• Strategies for Managing Analog Audio/Visual Recordings
• Strategies for Managing Chat/Instant Messaging Retention
• Strategies for Managing Retention of Inappropriate Social Media Comments
• Strategies for Managing Social Media Records Retention
• Strategies for Managing Voicemail Retention
• Strategies for Migrating Database Records
• Strategies for Respecting Data Privacy
• Websites are Public Records
• What Formats Should I Use for Digital Audio?
• What Happened to the EIS/DAD Approval Process?
• What is Metadata (and Why Does it Matter)?

Improving Agency RM Programs...

• Advice and Consultation Services
• How Managing Records Helps with Public Records Requests
• Recommended Policies and Procedures for Managing Records

• What are the Leading Practices for Records Management and Retention?
• Examples of Leading Practices in Action

Local Records Grants...

• About the Local Records Grant Program
• Can an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) System be Funded by a Technology Tools Grant?
• Can Local Records Grants Pay for Professional Consultants?
• Can Local Records Grants Pay for Staff Time?
• Can Public Records Request Tracking Software be Funded by a Technology Tools Grant?
• Can Redaction Software be Funded by a Technology Tools Grant?
• Can a Scanner be Funded by a Technology Tools Grant?
• Can Social Media Capture Software be Funded by a Technology Tools Grant?
• Checklist for Submitting an Online Grant Application
• Estimating Staff Time for an Organizing the File Room Project
• How a Digital Imaging Grant Can Help
• How an Organizing the File Room Grant Can Help
• How a Technology Tools Grant Can Help
• How Local Records Grant Applications are Scored
• How to Request Reimbursement for Your Local Records Grant
• Lessons Learned from Previous Digital Imaging Grantees

• Lessons Learned from Previous Organizing the File Room Grantees
• Lessons Learned from Previous Technology Tools Grantees
• List of Grants Awarded - First Cycle 2018
• List of Grants Awarded - Second Cycle 2018
• List of Grants Awarded - Third Cycle 2019-20
• List of Grants Awarded - 2021-22
• List of Grants Awarded - 2022-23
• List of Grants Awarded - 2023-24
• List of Grants Awarded - 2024-25
• List of Grants Awarded - 2025-26
• Preview Digital Imaging Grant Application Questions
• Preview Organizing the File Room Grant Application Questions
• Preview Technology Tools Grant Application Questions
• Tips for Applying for a Digital Imaging Grant
• Tips for Applying for an Organizing the File Room Grant
• Tips for Applying for a Technology Tools Grant
• What Happened to the 2020-21 Local Records Grant Cycle?
• What Happens After You Are Awarded a Grant?

Microfilming Records...

• Proper Microfilm Splicing
• What's the Difference Between Microfilm and Microfiche?

 

Open Government Training...

• Open Government Training Certificate Template
• Training Requirements for Elected Officials

• Training Requirements for Members of Governing Bodies
• Training Requirements for Public Records Officers

Organizing and Inventorying Records...

• Benefits of Using Washington State Archives' Boxes
• How Often Should Records/Data Be Inventoried?
• How to Order Washington State Archives' Boxes

• Selecting Appropriate Shelving for Records Storage
• What Should Agencies Include in a Records/Data Inventory?
• When to Use Washington State Archives' Boxes

Transferring Archival Records...

• Benefits of Transferring Records to the Archives
• How to Complete a Digital Transfer Inventory Sheet
• How to Contact the Archives Branch in Your Region
• How to Export Calendars from Outlook to a PST File
• How to Fill Out a Records Transmittal and Box Content List
• How to Find Which Records Are Designated as "Archival"
• How to Transfer for Appraisal and Selective Retention
• Overview of Archival Transfer Process for Paper Records

• Overview of Transfer Process for Digital Calendars
• Overview of Transfer Process for Digital Meeting Records
• Preparing Digital Records for Archival Transfer
• Quick Guide to Indexing Archival Audio Records
• What Legislators' Records Are Sent to the Archives?
• Whose Calendars Are Archival?
• Why are Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavits (REETAs) Archival?

Using Records Retention Schedules (How Long to Keep)...

• Appointment Letters
• Associated Student Body (ASB) Records
• Audit Trails
• Backups
• Chat/Instant Messaging
• Communications Between Legislators
• Community College Club Records
• Constituent Communications (Legislators)
• COVID-19 Pandemic Records
• COVID-19 Contact Tracing Logs and Screening Records
• COVID-19 Vaccination Verification Records
• Data Entry Records
• Database Records
• Drone Operation Records
• Drone Recordings
• Election Operations Video Recordings
• Emails
• Employment Verification Requests
• Head Start Records
• Individual Meeting Members' Notes/Recordings
• Journals of the House and Senate
• Law Enforcement Evidence/Property
• Law Enforcement Misconduct Records
• Law Enforcement Personnel Records
• Law Enforcement Training Records
• Liquor and Canabis Board Licensing Notices
• Meeting Recordings

• Migration Process Records
• Police Body Cam Recordings
• Police Dash Cam Recordings
• Police Drone Recordings
• Police Radar Calibration Records
• Public Records Request Logs
• Public Records Requests
• Recorded Lessons
• Recruitment Records (Local Governments)
• Recruitment Records (State Agencies)
• School District P-223 Forms
• Social Media "Likes"
• Social Media Posts
• Text Messages
• Use of Force Reports
• Utility Discounts/Tax Exemptions
• Utility Locates
• Voicemails
• Volunteer Records (Local Governments)
• Volunteer Records (State Agencies)

Using Records Retention Schedules (Which Schedules to Use)...

• Agricultural Commodity Commissions
• Air Pollution Control Authorities / Clean Air Agencies
• Airport Districts
• Area Agencies on Aging
• Behavioral Health Organizations
• Cemetery Districts
• Community and Technical Colleges
• Conservation Districts
• Construction Records
• County Assessors
• County Auditors
• County Clerks
• County Treasurers
• District and Municipal Courts
• Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Providers
• Ferry Districts
• Financial Records
• Fire Districts/Departments
• Housing Authorities
• Juvenile Courts

• Law Enforcement Agencies
• Legislators
• Legislature
• Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs)
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations
• Park Districts
• Payroll Records
• Personnel Records
• Port Districts
• Prosecuting Attorneys
• Public Hospital Districts
• Public Libraries
• Public Transportation Benefit Areas
• Regional Transportation Planning Organizations
• Schools
• Superior Courts
• Transit Authorities
• Water and Sewer Districts
• Weed Districts

Using Records Retention Schedules (Other Advice)...

• Difference Between Administrative and Core Mission Policies/Procedures
• Examples of Common Records with Minimal Retention
• Examples of Legislators' Records with Minimal Retention
• Examples of Retention for Common Types of Social Media Posts
• How to Choose Between Multiple Records Series
• How to Determine the Correct Records Series
• How to Navigate Records Retention Schedules
• How to Research Previous Retention Schedules
• Impact of Public Records Requests on Records Retention
• Notorious/Historically Significant Case Files/Inmate Records
• Notorious/Historically Significant Court Exhibits and Recordings of Proceedings
• Notorious/Historically Significant Legal Case Files
• Records of Survey Filed with the County Auditor (Paper vs. Mylar)
• Strategies for Applying Retention Schedule Updates
• Strategies for Applying Retention to Project Files
• Strategies for Applying Retention to Subject Files
• Strategies for Managing Child Support Title IV-D Case Files
• Strategies for Managing Notary Public Journals
• Strategies for Managing Sensitive Payment Cardholder Data
• Strategies for Managing Sex Offender Case Records

• Strategies for Managing Smart Meter Data/Records
• Strategies for Managing Special Education Testing Protocols
• Strategies for Managing Vehicle Telematics Data/Records
• Student Cumulative Folders vs. Official Student Records
• What are Personnel Files?
• What are Records Retention Schedules?
• What are Records Series?
• What Does "Exhaustion of Appeals Process" Mean?
• What Does "Until No Longer Needed for Agency Business" Mean?
• What is a Non-Archival Record?
• What is an Archival Record?
• What To Do When a Student Moves to a New District
• What To Do With Non-Work-Related Appointments in Calendars
• What To Do With Public Defender Case Files and Indigence Determinations
• What To Do With State Publications
• Which Litigation Case Files are "Significant"?
• Why Are Destruction/Transfer Records Kept for 50 Years?
• Why are Public Records Requests Kept for 2 Years?
• Why Isn't There Just One "Transitory" Records Series?

Using the State Records Center...

• What is the Difference Between the State Archives and the State Records Center?