The Senate Audio for 1993-2005 has been flagged as problematic for a few years, because the Dictaphone equipment used for production and playback was first discontinued and then totally abandoned by its maker. Although we had access to an old Dictaphone machine, it eventually broke down, and there was no way to procure the parts…
In May 2020, the State Archives of North Carolina received a Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Recordings-at-Risk grant, made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.* The project, titled Preserving and Providing Access to Legislative History: Senate Audio Digitization, will digitize 64 Dictaphone Veritrac tapes in the North Carolina Senate Daily…
Applications are now open for the 2021 Traveling Archivist Program (TAP), “Preserving and Sharing Community Histories Online.” Please find the application and guidelines here. Applications are due January 31. Eligible institutions include historical and genealogical societies; public libraries; the archives of colleges, hospitals, and other organizations; historic houses, sites, and museums; and other publicly accessible institutions…
Files and Filing Workshop for State Employees dates announced for late January, early February. All classes are virtual and free of charge.
Over the holidays, the website of the State Archives of North Carolina was updated. Although the primary address (https://archives.ncdcr.gov/) remains the same, many web addresses deeper within the site have changed, including pages that host guidance documentation and records retention and disposition schedules. If you have one of these pages bookmarked, you should verify the…
The Records Analysis Unit is continuing to wait on internal approval to signature page language that will hopefully streamline the approval process. In the meantime, we are taking the opportunity to make additional revisions and edits to the Local Government Program Schedule (previously the County Management and Municipal schedule, now combined into one document). The…
The State Archives provides detailed instructions for transferring archival electronic records from state agencies to the State Archives for permanent retention. And now we’ve also created a checklist to help you navigate this process. Most of the steps have links to resources on the State Archives website that can provide further guidance, such as using the Functional…
Registration is open for the November 2020 virtual sessions of the “Managing Public Records” workshop for local government employees. We look forward to “seeing” you there!
The State Archives of North Carolina is happy to offer the workshop, “Understanding the Functional Schedule,” for State Agency employees. This workshop will cover the basics of public records law in North Carolina and will then provide an overview of the Functional Schedule, the records retention schedule that applies to all state agencies in North…
Frayda Bluestein of the UNC School of Government recently posted about employees’ personnel files, and she provides very useful information about what is in the file, who can see the records, and even where the the file is. Or isn’t. The post is on the Coates’ Canons blog, or you can use the following link.
Local and state government agencies alike are stepping up their use of social media for online outreach during this time. If you haven’t already, check out our social media best practices for state and local government. Also consider these factors: Is the content posted on the social media platform identical to what you’re already managing…
The Records Analysis Unit has developed infographics describing the disposition of some types of state agency records. These can be found on the Archives website under State Agency Records Management Tools. The first covers disposition of records with historical value and shows the three possible dispositions applicable to all records, as well as five things that determine historical value. The second infographic illustrates the disposition of grants received by an agency, RC No.535. …
The State Archives has produced a 9-minute tutorial that explains how to request access to state agency materials that are stored temporarily at the State Records Center. It walks you through the request form that must be submitted and provides suggestions on how to find the item number that must be included with this request.…
NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect the new URLs on the website of the State Archives of North Carolina. A few months ago, we shared with North Carolina state agencies some guidance about how to appraise new records being created in response to the COVID pandemic for possible long-term archival value. The further…
Digital Communications virtual workshops offered in September 2020 for local government employees. Learn more and register here!
