Electronic Records and
Managing E-mail
Electronic Records
Connecticut Uniform Electronic Transactions
Act (CGS §1-266 to 1-286)
§1-267 (7) defines “electronic record,” to include email
§1-267 (8) regulates electronic transactions and
signatures
§1-282 extends the authority of the Office of the
Public Records Administrator to include electronic
records
§1-283 allows for each agency to decide whether or
not to accept electronic transactions
Managing Electronic
Records
The same records management
principles apply to electronic records as
paper records
The content of the record determines
whether or not it is a record, what records
series it belongs to, and how long it should
be retained, e.g., e-mail
Managing Electronic Records:
Issues and Challenges
Migration of data / information
Technological obsolescence, e.g., hardware, system,
software
Multiple digital formats, e.g., database, document,
spreadsheet
Inventory control, e.g., multiple copies
Growth in size / scope of information
Complexity of digital files
Systems backup
Digitization / Optical Imaging
Maintaining long-term records in a format that is
human-readable, i.e., paper or microfilm
Managing E-mail
Follow policies and procedures
Apply records retention schedules
Be proactive!
Manage your own e-mail on a consistent
and active basis
Managing E-mail:
State Policies
General Letter #2009-2: Management and
Retention of E‐mail and other Electronic
Messages

Establishes retention guidelines for electronic
messages, including e-mail, IM, text
messaging, and voice mail
State Agencies’ Records Retention
Schedule S1: Administrative Records

Lists retention periods and disposition
www.cslib.org/publicrecords/opraforms.htm#guidelines
Managing E-mail:
Retention Guidelines
E-mail should be treated as
correspondence
Retention categories:

Transitory

Routine

All Other
Managing E-mail:
Retention Guidelines (Cont.)
Transitory Correspondence (S1-060):
Retention: No requirement
Disposition: Destroy at will
Description: Consists of transitory records that
have short term administrative value (e.g.,
transmittal faxes/memos and out of office
replies, and convenience copies that are
distributed for information purposes). Includes
hard copy and electronic formats.
Managing E-mail:
Retention Guidelines (Cont.)
Routine Correspondence (S1-070):
Retention: 2 years from date of correspondence
Disposition: Destroy after receipt of signed
Form RC-108
Description: Consists of routine incoming
correspondence, and copies of outgoing
correspondence for internal and external
audiences; general requests; and Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) requests. Includes hard
copy and electronic formats.
Managing E-mail:
Retention Guidelines (Cont.)
All Other Correspondence (S1-090):
Retention: Follow retention of equivalent records
series
Disposition: Follow disposition of equivalent
records series
Description: Consists of correspondence other
than transitory or routine, e.g., for
correspondence related to a fiscal transaction,
refer to S3-010, “3 years, or until audited,
whichever is later.” Includes hard copy and
electronic formats.
Managing E-mail:
Filing and Classification
E-mail systems are not designed to be
filing systems
Filing and classification is often determined
by the user
Files created by users are generally
outside of the agency filing system
Managing E-mail:
Individual Best Practices
Follow best practices for writing and
sending e-mail:



Use short, accurate, and descriptive subject
lines
Point to links instead of attaching files
Use copying and forwarding sparingly
Don’t let transitory e-mail accumulate

Review daily, weekly, and monthly
Don’t forget to manage sent mail
Managing E-mail:
Individual Best Practices (cont.)
Utilize functions in your e-mail system to
tag and categorize e-mail


Establish rules to direct specific messages to
specific folders as they arrive
Set up folders to manage e-mail
If using subject folders, they should match
your office filing system, or
 Label the folders based on retention period
or topic


Use available software tools, e.g., color