NARA Announcements
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is a crucial player in maintaining the integrity of federal records management, issuing bulletins to provide guidance, policies, and instructions to Federal agencies. These bulletins, known as NARA Bulletins, play a significant role in ensuring that agencies follow federal laws and regulations when it comes to creating, maintaining, scheduling, preserving, and disposing of their records.
History and Significance
Over the years, NARA Bulletins have served as a key tool for communicating new or revised records management policies to federal agencies. They help clarify legal requirements and best practices under the Federal Records Act and related statutes. These bulletins often detail how records should be handled to protect important government information, support transparency and accountability, and manage the lifecycle of records from creation to eventual disposition or archival preservation.
The issuance of bulletins by NARA reflects the agency's evolving role as the federal government's official custodian of permanent records and the overseer of records management nationwide. The bulletins' significance includes standardizing records management practices across diverse federal agencies, providing authoritative instructions on record scheduling, destruction, and transfer, ensuring preservation of historically valuable records, addressing emerging challenges, such as electronic records management or national security concerns, and supporting compliance with information governance and legal requirements, including public access under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Notable Examples of Past NARA Bulletins and Topics
Examples of topics typically covered by NARA bulletins include guidance on records scheduling and disposition, procedures for managing records at risk during hostile actions or war, approval processes for destruction of records posing health or safety risks, policy updates concerning electronic records management, and instructions related to specific federal programs or compliance measures related to records management.
Some notable examples of past NARA bulletins include:
- 2011-03: Guidance Concerning the use of E-mail Archiving Applications to Store E-mail, December 30, 2010
- 2011-04: Guidance on Managing Mixed-Media Files, July 18, 2011
- 2013-02: Guidance on a New Approach to Managing Email Records, August 29, 2013
- 2014-04: Format Guidance for the Transfer of Permanent Electronic Records
- 2014-02: Guidance on Managing Social Media Records, October 25, 2013
- 2010-03: Flexible Scheduling, May 03, 2010
- 2007-02: Guidance concerning the use of Enterprise Rights Management (ERM) and other encryption-related software on Federal records, April 30, 2007
- 2014-05: Guidance on NARA-Created Transfer Requests, September 24, 2014
- 2005-06: Additional requirement for transferring permanent records to the National Archives of the United States directly from agencies, August 22, 2005 (Note: This bulletin is still in effect)
- 2010-05: Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments, September 30, 2010
In recent years, NARA has continued to issue bulletins addressing contemporary concerns, such as managing records created on collaboration platforms, revoking NARA bulletins, expanding the use of a role-based approach for electronic messages, guidance on storing radiographic film records, updating NARA Bulletin 2014-04 on format guidance for the transfer of permanent electronic records, and providing metadata guidance for the transfer of classified electronic records.
In summary, NARA Bulletins are authoritative documents essential to maintaining sound federal records management practices that uphold government accountability and preserve the national documentary heritage. Their historical and ongoing issuance reflects NARA's central role in guiding agencies through the complex requirements of records disposition and archiving.
The NARA Bulletins, issued by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), serve as a vital link between the agency and Federal agencies, providing guidance on policy-and-legislation related to records management. These bulletins, such as the 2010-05 "Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments," involve topics spanning from electronic records management, social media records, to emergency measures during hostile actions or war, playing a significant role in politics and general-news.
Recognizing the importance of NARA Bulletins, their historical and ongoing issuance reflects NARA's central role in shaping the records management practices across diverse federal agencies, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and promoting transparency, accountability, and information governance throughout the federal government.
