42 TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT

RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

As in previous years, emphasis in records management was placed on rec-
ords retirement, though records creation and records maintenance received
some attention.

The records survey program, aimed at developing retention and disposal
schedules and clearing out accumulations of old records, made appreciable pro-
gress in both State and local agencies. In the course of the year, surveys were
conducted in twenty-one State agencies. For the most part they included either
all the records of an agency or those of major departmental divisions or insti-
tutions. In a few cases, however, the surveys were limited to specific record
series because of the urgent need for additional space. On the basis of the
information obtained in each survey, control schedules were established pro-
viding for the orderly retirement of the records. These schedules, together
with those established in previous years, now govern approximately eighty-five
per cent of the holdings of all State agencies.

Because so many of the functions and operations of State agencies require
complete documentation on individuals, case filing is extensively used. In many
instances, case files were found to contain documents of both temporary and
long-term value. When this situation was found to exist, the schedules listed
the documents that should be retained or destroyed. In the case of the Depart-
ment of Mental Hygiene, where the patients' case files at its several hospitals
are kept on dissimilar forms, the schedule recommendations were by category
of record rather than by title of form. Filing procedures also were recommend-
ed which should facilitate the disposal of documents of temporary value. By
reducing the contents of case files and even eliminating the filing of some ma-
terial of short term value, it was possible in some cases to increase the efficiency
of these files.

A similar problem was encountered in the subject files maintained by
many agencies. Documents that have significant historical and research value
are intermixed with documents of short-term value. To control the size and
value of these files, a weeding or screening process must be performed. Insofar
as practical, the types of documents that should be retained permanently were
listed and the remaining documents were scheduled for periodic disposal. A
planned program for the filing of current records was developed in a number
of agencies to simplify their future screening. However, screening was not
recommended when the percentage of documents that could be eliminated
would not justify the expense and effort expended.