USDANEWS VOLUME 56 NO. 2 - FEBRUARY 1997

When We Leave USDA, Our Federal Records Don't Go With Us
They Add to the "Institutional Memory"

by Ron Hall, Office of Communications

Staffing turnovers are a reality in government, and USDA is no exception. As the second term of the administration of President Bill Clinton moves ahead, some personnel will invariably be departing the Department.

But, as they leave, their Federal office records are to remain behind.

That's the gist of the message contained in a memorandum, dated January 15, 1997 and titled "Records and Personal Papers," that Secretary Dan Glickman sent to USDA's subcabinet officials and agency heads.

In the memorandum Glickman pointed out the responsibility of USDA officials for protecting Federal records not only during their tenure but also upon their departure from USDA. "Only non-records and personal papers may be removed when you leave the Department," he advised.

Attached to Glickman's memo was a document titled "Personal Papers of Executive Branch Officials: A Management Guide" which the National Archives and Records Administration prepared in 1992 as guidance. The December 1992 issue of the USDA News carried a story on this subject.

According to Don Hulcher, records manager with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, "Federal records" are defined by law as all documentary materials--regardless of physical form--that (1) are made or received by an agency of the U.S. Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business, and (2) are preserved, or appropriate for preservation, as evidence of agency activities or because of the value of the information they contain.

"In layperson's terms," he said, "Federal records are essentially those documents which protect the legal, financial, and other interests of the Government and its citizenry; and/or assist Departmental officials--and their successors--to make informed policy and program judgments; and/or provide the information required by Congress and others for oversight of the Department's activities."

"Accordingly," he advised, "all correspondence, memos, case files, photographs, maps, motion pictures, tape recordings, data sets, and computer tapes and disks in an employee's custody need to be measured against that definition--to determine whether they qualify as 'Federal records'."

Hulcher explained that the essential qualifying characteristics relate to evidence and information contained in the source document--and not its physical form or format.

"Federal employees need to keep in mind that official Federal records belong to the Government, not to any individual," he advised. "As such, unauthorized destruction or removal of official records is illegal and may be the basis for prosecution."

Hulcher noted that, in contrast to Federal records, "nonrecord materials" and "personal records" may be removed or destroyed by an employee at any time.

Nonrecord materials include such items as transmittal letters and memoranda, as well as extra reference copies of documents.

Personal records include such items as papers accumulated by an employee before entering Government service; private materials in the office that were not created or received in the course of transacting Government business; and work-related personal papers that are not used in the transaction of Government business.

Hulcher advised that, to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, all personal materials should be maintained separately from official files.

He also noted that word processing and electronic mail have been changing the nature of recordkeeping in the Federal government--and that these requirements for retention apply to electronic documents as well.

"USDA employees need to recognize," Hulcher said, "that when they delete an electronic document, they may be destroying the only copy of that document--so be aware of the ramifications of decisions you make concerning disposition of electronic records."

"The great archival value of Federal records," noted Joe Ware, chief of OCFO's Information Management Division, "is they ensure each of us in government can reconstruct the evolution of our decisions without relying on word-of-mouth; they give our successors a written rationale for actions we've taken; and they leave an enduring record that reflects the special contributions each of us has made."

"So I strongly advise not removing or destroying them--unless you're sure that you're legally correct in doing so." ¤

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