U.S. chief records officer details federal e-mail record-keeping programs
Source: Washington Post
After the Associated Press reported this month that some Obama cabinet officials have used alternative e-mail accounts to conduct federal business in addition to their government addresses, The Post talked with the National Archives and Records Administration about the practice and what’s new in the world of electronic record-keeping.
Paul M. Wester Jr. is chief records officer for the archives and the first person to hold the job, which was created in 2011. He issues policy and guidance to federal agencies on which records they must keep and for how long, with an emphasis on electronic records, including the vast trove of e-mail created by federal officials.
Q. The White House has defended the use of “secret” e-mail accounts as sensible time management, since high-level officials are swamped with unwanted messages. Does the practice make it harder for agencies to find and turn over emails under public records requests and other inquiries?
A. That’s my reading of it. We’ve been pretty clear with agencies it is not a good practice to follow, and we don’t recommend that they authorize the use of personal e-mail accounts or alias accounts to conduct their business. There’s a higher probability the e-mails wouldn’t be documented properly with their broader record-keeping systems.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-chief-records-officer-details-federal-e-mail-record-keeping-programs/2013/06/16/a6995e92-d470-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_singlePage.html
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