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Managing Electronic Mail

Guidelines for State of Ohio Local Governments

These guidelines apply to State of Ohio local governments. Other governmental entities may also wish to follow these guidelines as appropriate.

The intent of these guidelines is to provide and explain requirements, guidelines and best practices for electronic mail (e-mail) messages that meet the criteria for records as defined by the Ohio Revised Code.

These guidelines have a two-fold purpose. First, they are intended to assist local government employees in complying in their use of e-mail with Ohio public records law. Second, the guidelines promote best practices and suggestions that facilitate the effective capture, management, and retention of electronic messages as public records.

Electronic mail systems, commonly called e-mail, are becoming the communications method of choice for many public officials and public employees in Ohio. E-mail messages are often used as communication substitutes for the telephone as well as to communicate substantive information previously committed to paper and transmitted by more traditional methods. This combination of communication and record creation/keeping has created ambiguities on the status of e-mail messages as records.

The management of e-mail systems touches on nearly all functions for which a government agency is dependent on recordkeeping: privacy, administration, vital records management, administrative security, auditing, access, and archives. The need to manage e-mail messages and systems properly, then, is the same as for other records keeping systems -- to ensure compliance with Ohio laws concerning the creation of, retention of, and access to public records.

Local government agencies that use electronic mail have an obligation to make employees aware that e-mail messages, like paper records, must be retained and destroyed according to established records management procedures. Local governments should set up or modify e-mail systems to facilitate electronic records management. Specific procedures and system configurations will vary according to local needs and the particular hardware and software in place.

These guidelines are based partly upon the work done by the Maine State Archives, Delaware State Archives and Florida Department of State (see bibliography for citation). Their work is included here with their kind permission. We appreciate their expertise and generosity.

Definitions

E-mail systems are store-and-deliver software systems that transport messages from one computer user to another. E-mail systems range in scope and size from a local area network e-mail system that shuffles messages to users within an agency or office; to a wide area network e-mail system which carries messages to various users in various physical locations; to Internet e-mail that allows users to send and receive messages from other Internet users around the world.

E-mail messages are electronic documents created and sent or received by a computer system. This definition applies equally to the contents of the communication, the transactional information, and any attachments associated with such communication. Thus, e-mail messages are similar to other forms of communicated messages, such as correspondence, memoranda, and circular letters.

Legal Requirements

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) includes no specific definition for electronic mail, however ORC Section 149.011(G) provides the following definition:

"Records" includes any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or received by or coming under the jurisdiction of any public office of the state or its political subdivisions, which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.

Clearly, an e-mail message is a document or item created or received by a public office. Whether the e-mail serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities is the deciding factor as to its status as a record. This is true of any communication, whether electronic or paper. [1]

E-mail messages that meet the criteria of the definition of a record must be scheduled and retained for the appropriate time period before disposition. Scheduling e-mail is discussed in detail below.

E-mail messages that meet the criteria of the definition of a record may be considered public records and must be available to the public. A record must meet the definition of a public record as defined in the Ohio Revised Code. This definition is found in Section 149.43, which states in part:

Public record means any record that is kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township, and school district units, except that public record does not mean any of the following: medical records...

All public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon request, a public office or person responsible for public records shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period of time. In order to facilitate broader access to public records, public offices shall maintain public records in such a manner that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with this division.

As with any format, an e-mail message is considered a public record unless it falls under one of the exceptions listed in Section 149.43. These records must be maintained and made accessible to the public upon request through the appropriate retention period.

Retention and Scheduling Requirements

E-mail itself is not considered a record series or category. It is a means of transmission of messages or information. Like paper or microfilm, email is the medium by which this type of record is transmitted. Just as a local government cannot schedule all paper or microfilm records together under a single retention period, it cannot simply schedule e-mail as a record series. Rather, retention or disposition of e-mail messages must be related to the information they contain or the purpose they serve. The content, transactional information, and any attachments associated with the message are considered a record (if they meet the ORC criteria). The content of e-mail messages may vary considerably, and therefore, this content must be evaluated to determine the length of time the message must be retained.

Simply backing up the e-mail system onto tapes or other media or purging all messages after a set amount of time are not appropriate strategies for managing e-mail.

For more information on records management, contact your local records commission.

For the purposes of this document, there are four categories of e-mail retention: non-record messages, transitory messages, intermediate messages, and permanent messages. An example of a mailbox with filed email messages is included as an Appendix.

Non-Record Materials

E-mail messages that do not meet the criteria of the Ohio Revised Code definition of a record may be deleted at any time, unless they become part of some official record as a result of special circumstances. These types of messages may include:

Personal Correspondence

Any e-mail not received or created in the course of business, may be deleted immediately, since it is not an official record: the "Let's do lunch" (not a business lunch) or "Can I catch a ride home" type of note.

Non-State Publications

Publications, promotional material from vendors, and similar materials that are "publicly available" to anyone, are not official records unless specifically incorporated into other official records. In the electronic world, this includes listserve messages (other than those you post in your official capacity), unsolicited promotional material ("spam"), files copied or downloaded from Internet sites, etc.

These items may be immediately deleted, or maintained in a "Non-Record" mail box and deleted later, just as you might trash the unwanted publication or promotional flyer.

However, for example, if you justify the purchase of a "Zippo Filing System" by incorporating the reviews you saved (from the "Files R Us Listserve") in your proposal to your boss, those listserve messages become official records and must be retained in accordance with the retention schedule for purchasing proposals.

Official Records -- Retain As Required

E-mail messages that meet the definition of a record in the ORC are official records and must be scheduled, retained and disposed of as such. These official records may fall into the following categories:

Transient Retention

Much of the communication via e-mail has a very limited administrative value. For instance, an e-mail message notifying employees of an upcoming meeting would only have value until the meeting has been attended or the employee receiving the message has marked the date and time in his/her calendar.

Transitory messages do not set policy, establish guidelines or procedures, certify a transaction or become a receipt. The informal tone of transitory messages might be compared to a communication that might take place during a telephone conversation or conversation in an office hallway. These types of records are transient documents and can be scheduled as follows:

• Transient Documents: Includes telephone messages, drafts and other limited documents which serve to convey information of temporary importance in lieu of oral communication.

  Suggested Retention: Until no longer of administrative value, then destroy.

Intermediate Retention

E-mail messages that have more significant administrative, legal and/or fiscal value but are not scheduled as transient or permanent should be categorized under other appropriate record series. These may include (but are not limited to):

• General Correspondence: Includes internal correspondence (letters, memos); also, correspondence from various individuals, companies, and organizations requesting information pertaining to local and legal interpretations and other miscellaneous inquiries. This correspondence is informative (it does not attempt to influence policy).

  Suggested Retention: 1 year, then destroy

• Routine Correspondence: Referral letters, requests for routine information or publications provided to the public and are answered by standard form letters.

  Suggested Retention: 6 months, then destroy

• Monthly and Weekly Reports: Document status of on-going projects and issues; advise supervisors of various events and issues.

  Suggested Retention: 1 year, then destroy

• Minutes of Agency Staff Meetings: Minutes and supporting records documenting internal policy decisions.

  Suggested Retention: 2 years

Permanent Retention

E-mail messages that have significant administrative, legal and/or fiscal value and are scheduled as permanent also should be categorized under the appropriate record series. These may include (but are not limited to):

• Executive Correspondence: Correspondence dealing with significant aspects of the administration of their offices. Correspondence includes information concerning agency policies, program, fiscal and personnel matters.

  Suggested Retention: 2 years, then appraise for historical value.

• Departmental Policies and Procedures: Includes published reports, unpublished substantive reports and policy studies.

  Suggested Retention: Retain until superseded, obsolete or replaced. Retain one copy permanently.

Note: Not all e-mail messages will fall into these record series.

Guidelines and Best Practices for Managing E-mail

Record Copy E-mail

E-mail users should be aware that e-mail messages are often widely distributed to a number of various recipients. Determining which individual maintains the record copy of the message, ie. the original message that must be retained per the retention schedule, is vital to e-mail management. If the holder of the record copy is not identified and aware of his/her responsibility, the local government may find that no one retains the message or that everyone retains the message. Neither of these scenarios is appropriate.

For example, policy documents which are transmitted to multiple recipients via an e-mail system need not be maintained by each recipient beyond his or her need for this information if record copy responsibility is established so that the record is maintained by some office or agent for its established retention period. In this example, a logical record copy responsibility rests with the creator of the policy document. Prompt deletion of duplicate copies of e-mail messages from an e-mail system makes the system as a whole much easier to manage and reduces disk space consumed by redundant information.

Generally speaking, the individual who sends an e-mail message should maintain the record copy of the message. However, the varied uses and wide distribution of e-mail may result in many exceptions to this rule that will have to be dealt with internally.

Filing

Non-transitory e-mail messages should be filed in a way that enhances their accessibility and that facilitates records management tasks. Offices should set up or modify e-mail systems to facilitate records management and appropriate filing systems. Procedures and systems configurations will vary according to the agency's needs and the particular hardware and software in use.

In addition to the IN and OUT boxes that come with your mail system, you usually have the option of creating other "mailboxes" or "folders." After brief periods in your IN-OUT boxes, messages should be transferred to other boxes, based on business and retention requirements. Examples are provided in the Appendix.

Employees should be responsible for classifying messages they send or receive according to content, the folder/directory structure and established records series.

Distribution Lists

If you send to a "distribution list" (not a listserve, but a specified list of individuals), you must also keep a copy of the members of that list for as long as you are required to keep the message itself. It is of little value to know that the "Security Alert!" notice went to "Swat Team 7," without knowing whether Arnold S. received the message. Nicknames present a similar problem.

Subject Lines

Fill in the subject line on your e-mail both to help your recipient identify and file messages, and to help you file your OUT box messages that must be retained for some period. Subject lines should be as descriptive as possible.

The following are some examples of poor and good subject lines for the same message...

 

Poor or confusing subject lines	Better, descriptive subject lines
"helpful info"	"contact info"

"report"	"quarterly financial report"
"minutes"	"Jan 99 board minutes"
"important"	"revised admin. procedures"
"today?"	"lunch plans today?"
"news"	"new agency head appointed"

Storage of E-mail