AGENCY RESPONSE

Wyoming

Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources

Director's Office

Barrett Building

2301 Central Ave.

Cheyenne, WY  82002

(307) 777-6303

FAX (307) 777-6005

May 1, 2000

Senator Jim Twiford, Chairman

Management Audit Committee

Dear Senator Twiford: 

The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources greatly appreciates the efforts by the staff of the Legislative Services Office to assess the conditions and issues confronting the State Archives.  It is our fervent hope that attention to the issues raised in this report will provide the impetus for improving the state's records management system in a manner which is not only cost efficient, but serves to more effectively provide quality services to the public and governmental entities.  The report highlights a number of different issues which we recognize merit attention.  While we are not sure that the report has provided the answer to all the issues and problems facing the state, we feel it has raised legitimate issues and recommendations which merit further discussion and action.  The report has provided excellent guidance for possible statute revisions as well as justification for further budgetary support for the program.

The following are the agency's responses to each recommendation included in the report.

Recommendation: WSA should focus on developing its electronic records program.

Agree.  Management of electronic and paper records is an incredibly complex issue requiring increased levels of support and attention by the department and state and local government entities.  Attention to this issue of is paramount importance.  Prior to resolution of this issue, the legislative and executive branches of government must reach a consensus as to the mission and function of the Wyoming State Archives.  Is the State Archives primarily an administrative, records storing vault for state government, for state and local government or should it focus more closely on providing services to the general public?  These issues must be determined to successfully develop an electronic and paper records management system.  Executive Order 1999-4, dated December 23, 1999 and issued by Governor Geringer was a critical first step in the development of an electronic records management system. 

Recommendation: WSA should seek temporary funding to develop and implement a comprehensive training program. 

Agree.  The department will investigate the potential for increasing funding to develop and implement a comprehensive training program through grants and partnerships.  A supplementary budget request may also be submitted in order to meet this identified need. 

Recommendation: WSA should develop a plan to strategically use and financially support micrographics. 

Agree.  The re-appointment of the State Historic Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) should help provide the impetus for the development of such a plan.   SHRAB members can provide guidance for the development of procedures and statute revision necessary to most effectively provide support for micrographics services.

Recommendation: The Legislature should consider reviewing WSA's statutory responsibility for government records. 

Agree.  This issue is central to most of the problems confronted by WSA.  WSA is statutorily directed to be Aeverything for everybody@, but lacks the staffing and financial supports to fulfill these responsibilities in a truly effective manner.  Full consideration of these complex issues and the development of a consensus direction would be helpful for both state and local government agencies.

Recommendation: WSA should reassess its approach to providing records services to free resources for other needs. 

Agree.   A careful assessment of records services should be accomplished on a regularly scheduled basis.  Changing needs of agencies, technological innovations, administrative directions and other factors suggest periodic redirection of efforts may be in order.  Such an assessment must be done in conjunction with affected governmental entities and involve consideration for the implication of such actions on both the WSA and the agencies served.  SHRAB, along with state and local government and the legislature can serve a central role in the consideration of this issue and its implications.

Recommendation: The WSA should evaluate current staff assignments. 

Partially Agree.  While we feel that staff assignments have been made to most judiciously serve the program needs, we cannot refute the basic value of an evaluation of these assignments to assure the most efficient level of service for the public.

Recommendation: WSA should evaluate maintaining its historical records collection.

Agree.  An investigation and evaluation of the historical records collections is merited in order to insure the most effective and efficient manner for the collections in question.  A heightened working relationship between the American Heritage Center and the WSA should be pursued to fully explore the potential and determine policies for care and management of public records and collections. 

Conclusion:

The majority of the problems identified within the Legislative Services Office Program Evaluation for WSA relate to the general lack of attention and interest in the subject over the course of many years.  from department management, agency commissioners, local government officials, state agency directors, various Governor's and the Wyoming State Legislature.  All are culpable. 

Archives issues are not of great general interest because they involve the minutiae of government.   This is the paperwork everyone complains about.  It is the physical manifestation of the bureaucracy of government that most people loathe.. Because of that, issues related to records management are easily ignored or put off for another time.  Unfortunately, this continued placement of archival and records management issues on the back burner comes at a cost to all of government.  Storing paper or electronic records which have no value is a cost.  Elimination of records of importance to the public also bears a cost.  Wyoming's public records are those materials which show how the Apublic's business@ is conducted.  They are a record of the many policies and decisions by which the interests of the public are manifested into action or inaction by the very government which they have elected and supported through their tax dollars to serve them.  Efficient records management is a critical element of government serving the public.

While always a complicated issue, the complexity has grown commensurately over the years due to variety of factors.  The size and breadth of government has increased dramatically over the past 100 years.  There are not only more people in the state, there are more communities.  There are also significantly more government programs with a broad array of bureaucratic support systems which require documentation at an ever increasing level.  Although there has been an increase in the size and number of governmental entities, there has not been an increase in the interest of government officials to manage the increased number of records generated.  The attention to the management of public records to determine what needs saved, what doesn't, for how long it should be saved, has not increased in a fashion consistent with the growth of government.  This lack of attention by various program managers suggests much is being saved without sufficient reason or justification.

The increased emphasis on legal liability has increased the complexity of records management.  Many people are afraid to throw any materials away for fear the information could  help them in a later legal or administrative battle.  Many others are afraid to keep any materials for fear that the information may be used against them in a later legal or administrative battle.  These divergent perspectives suggest a lack of uniformity to records management and heighten the need to address the issue before a court case comes along that has significant cost implications on the taxpayer due to the state's inconsistent records management system.

The advent of electronic records is merely the latest manifestation of an ongoing records problem. The issue of technology transfer and data collection are technically driven as are the solutions.  However, the most critical point of emphasis is that government is creating more and more paperwork, because it is just so easy to do so.  When people had to write everything by hand, it was quite labor intensive and therefore, files were kept to more manageable levels.  The advent of carbon paper, electronic typewriters, photocopiers, wordprocessors and computers have served to increase the amount of paperwork created by various governmental entities at a phenomenal rate.  It's so easy to create paperwork that the issues of managing those materials have been largely ignored. 

Now is the time to provide attention to these issues and the LSO Program Evaluation provides the state with a mechanism to do so.  The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources is strongly supportive of efforts to improve the management of public records and to increase the effectiveness of our programs.   We recognize that such an effort will not be accomplished solely by staff, but will involve the cooperation of the legislature, the Office of the Governor, local government officials, other state agencies and the public.  We are willing to do our part and look forward to working for the quality management of our state's public records. 

Sincerely,

John T. Keck

Director

JTK:klm

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