Jeanne,

The issue here is a little more complex than you have outlined.  First, how
does your institution define what a record is? Depending on your industry or
whether you are a public institution or a regulated institution or industry,
some aspects of this definition may need to be interpreted through the
statutes and regulations by which you are bound.  If you are a state or
federally-regulated institution, there is probably a record definition in
the codes that apply to your operations.

This is the jumping off point for your retention questions.  If (as in
Washington State) public records are defined as any recorded information,
you must look at e-mail as a record.  We also are enjoined from destroying
e-mail on the basis of format.  People who request e-mail can expect to
receive the digital file, and not a paper copy. If you are a private
organization, and don't have a definition for what a record is, you need to
take care of that.

After that, how long we retain an e-mail depends on the content--and its
relative importance to the ongoing history of the organization, or its
legal, fiscal or administrative functions, as encoded by a retention
schedule.  

If your organization does not have a retention schedule, start there after
determining any obligatory definitions for records under which you operate. 

You may find that you have inadequate back-up practices, hardware or
software to meet your needs once this is done, but at least you will have a
clear understanding of what, if anything, is being compromised if you cannot
upgrade.

Good Luck!


A.S.Elizabeth Fairfax, MA, CA
Island County Records and Information Management Program
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
x5569



-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Jeanne Callen
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:08 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [RM] Email Archiving

Here's another question regarding email archiving - and excuse me if I'm not
asking this properly - I know what I want to ask, just not sure how to get
there from here!...

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