Documenting actions in records aids in making governments accountable.

Access and accountability are cornerstones of any democratic process.  By completely and accurately documenting its actions, a government ensures that it protects its own legal and financial rights, as well as those of the individuals and private organizations it affects.  Archivists and records managers determine how long records must be kept to protect individual rights, provide accountability in government, and document governmental administrative history.

In Wyoming, the Wyoming State Archives (WSA), a program within the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources (department), Division of Cultural Resources, performs this function.  As its name implies, the program preserves records that document and interpret the state’s history, but its responsibilities are much broader.

Statutes Assign WSA Multiple Duties

The Public Records Act specifies that some government records are closed.

Statutes assign WSA a wide range of records management responsibilities.

WSA serves all state political subdivisions, as well as state agencies.

Two sets of statutes affect the WSA.  The first, the state’s Public Records Act (W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205), defines public records and stipulates how government records custodians must make them available to the public.  Public records are materials, regardless of physical form, made by governmental entities within the state in connection with the transaction of public business.  The act also specifies those government records that are not available to the public, such as individual medical, adoption, library, school and welfare records, and trade secrets or other confidential commercial information.

The second group (W.S. 9-2-401 through 9-2-419) assigns WSA a wide range of records management responsibilities.  It also establishes the role of the state archivist, who can be the department director or a designated employee of the department.  The state archivist has responsibility for all public records in his legal custody and for performing several other duties related to the administration of those records.  Among those are securing all state records in a central archives, setting retention periods for records, operating a state records center, training interested agencies about records management, and operating a central microfilming division for public records.

All Public Records Are Property of the State.  Indirectly, statute also creates a broad scope for WSA responsibilities.  According to W.S. 9-2-410, all public records are the property of the state and they are to be preserved, stored, transferred, destroyed or disposed of, and otherwise managed according to the statutes that establish the state archives.  WSA has implemented this encompassing statute by extending some of its services to political subdivisions in the state as well as to state government agencies.  Some of WSA’s statutes explicitly direct services to local governments, while other are less explicit.

State Records Committee (SRC).  A statutory component of the state’s records management process is the State Records Committee (W.S. 9-2-411).  This committee makes legally binding final decisions on WSA staff recommendations with respect to the management of public records.  Statute specifies that the Attorney General and the directors of the departments of Audit and State Parks and Cultural Resources, or their appointees, serve on this committee.

WSA Organized in Three Sections

Records schedules specify records as permanent or non-permanent.

To accomplish its broad mission, WSA has three sections:  Records Management, Archives and Historical Research, and Technical Services.  The state archivist, a designated employee of the department, oversees these three sections.

Records Management.  This section develops records retention schedules for state and local government records.  Records schedules, which are legally approved by the SRC, are the documents that specify records dispositions, or what will happen to them when they are no longer needed for current government business.  These schedules identify records as either permanent or non-permanent, and if non-permanent, specify for how long they will be retained before being legally destroyed.  This is called a record’s “retention period.”

Records are scheduled as permanent if they have administrative, legal, or historical value that warrants it.  Unless statutes specify that records be retained permanently, this decision is made by the SRC in consultation with the WSA staff and the offices of record origin.  Schedules can specify that permanent records be transferred to the state archives for permanent storage, or that the entities creating them retain them permanently.

Most of WSA’s scheduling work is with state agencies.

WSA stores non-permanent state agency records in the Records Center.

The Records Center takes in more than 4,000 cubic feet of records each year.

Although W.S. 9-2-406(a)(iii) does not explicitly extend WSA scheduling services to local governments, WSA has traditionally interpreted that directive from the inclusive language of the Public Records Act.  Most of the schedules the section creates for local governments apply to multiple entities of the same kind.  For example, there is a single schedule for all municipal fire departments or for all cemetery districts in the state.  Records Management will schedule records individually for local governmental units upon request.

However, the bulk of the section’s scheduling work is with state agencies.  Records Management has scheduled records from 36 state agencies, most including multiple programs.  In addition, it has scheduled records for 18 state boards and commissions.  The section creates general schedules for records of certain more routine functions common to many agencies, as well as program-specific schedules.  According to section officials, it has schedules for most paper records in all state agencies.  The section creates more than 200 schedules each year.

As authorized by statute, this WSA section also operates a records center for the storage of semi-active non-permanent state agency records.  The Records Center is operated in a state-owned warehouse facility in Cheyenne.  Currently, the Record Center holds approximately 30,000 cubic feet of state agency records.  These records are in boxes stacked on shelving, up to 14 boxes high.

In each of the past five years, state agencies have transferred, on average, about 4,460 cubic feet of records into the Records Center for temporary storage.  During the same time period, Records Center staff has disposed of an average of 3,693 cubic feet each year, leaving a net annual accumulation of approximately 770 cubic feet.

State agencies retain custody of the records they transfer to the Records Center.  Five agencies, the departments of Employment, Environmental Quality, Family Services, Heath, and Game and Fish, each store 2,000 or more cubic feet of records in the Records Center.  Other agencies store varying lesser amounts.  Records Management provides a retrieval service for these records so agencies can access them until they are destroyed at the end of their retention periods.

Records Management employs a staff of five, including a supervisor and two records analysts, to develop records schedules.  In addition, there are two administrative specialists who transfer, manage, retrieve, and dispose of the records in the Records Center. 

Archives manages and preserves permanent records.

Archives South, an archival storage facility, holds 30,600 cubic feet of permanent records.

Archives also holds a collection of non-governmental historical records.

Archives and Historical Research/Archives.  This section manages and preserves permanent government records that document and interpret the state’s history.  Since this is the WSA section that is generally associated with the term “archives,” we will refer to it as Archives in this report.  In addition to storing these documents, Archives prepares the records and provides reference services to make the records accessible to the public as educational resources for scholarly and personal research.

While the Records Management section operates the Records Center to store non-permanent state agency records, Archives stores permanent government records.  It operates two Cheyenne facilities to provide this storage.  The largest, Archives South, is in the same warehouse facility as the Records Center.  Archives officials estimate it holds 30,600 cubic feet of permanent records.  Records and historical materials are stored there on shelving in a non-climate controlled setting.  In addition, Archives stores approximately 3,500 cubic feet of materials in a climate-controlled vault in the newly remodeled Barrett Building.

Another component of Archives holdings is a collection of non-government historical materials.  These materials have been either purchased by the state or donated to it by private entities.  The materials  include books, newspapers, journals, manuscripts, and photographs that document and interpret the history of Wyoming and the region.  WSA has not traditionally focused on collecting these types of non-government records.  It acquired the current collection in 1995, when a department reorganization transferred the state’s collection of non-government historical records, previously administered by the Wyoming State Museum, to WSA.

Finally, local government and court records constitute the largest portion of Archives holdings.  Courts of all jurisdictions and local governments or political subdivisions throughout the state, including counties, municipalities and special districts can transfer permanent records to the state for preservation and management.  See Chapter 4 for more information on the Archives services to local governments.  Figure 1 portrays the distribution of permanent records among the three types that Archives currently stores.

Most permanent records stored in Archives South are from local governments.

Source: LSO analysis of WSA data.

The state archivist has legal custody of all records in Archives South.

When records come into Archives South, the state archivist assumes legal custody of them.  Archives provides access to the records it holds, under the authorities and restrictions set out in the Public Records Act. 

WSA has a staff of nine assigned to Archives.  Three positions are assigned to Archives South to manage and process permanently valuable public records and archival collections.  When Archives receives records, its staff must take steps to arrange the records, cull them if necessary, and describe them so they are accessible for future use.  This is called records processing.  One of these staff members is tasked half-time with maintaining the WSA web site and other outreach activities.

The remaining five staff members and the supervisor work in the Barrett Building.  This group provides access to the Archives collection by providing research assistance and other services to government agencies and the public in the Barrett Building reading room.  One individual serves as a receptionist for all department functions in the building.

Most Technical Services resources go toward providing statutorily required microfilming services.

WSA has climate controlled vault storage for vital records that have been microfilmed.

Technical Services.  The third WSA section consists of three functions:  micrographics, photograph conservation, and paper conservation.  The micrographics unit is WSA’s response to its statutory charge to operate a central division in which “all” records may be microfilmed if approved by the director of the office of origin and the state archivist.  Statute also charges this unit with establishing standards for all microfilming done by state agencies and political subdivisions, and with consulting with those entities doing their own microfilming.

In practice, Technical Services provides microfilming services only to some state agencies, and only for certain non-permanent and permanent records.  Chapter 4 includes more detail on these services.  The unit also processes microfilm for state agencies doing their own microfilming, and creates duplicate microfilm for research and sale. 

In addition, micrographics provides climate-controlled vault storage for security microfilm and negatives.  Security microfilm and negatives are backup copies of records that were destroyed once microfilmed, permanent records with intrinsic value, and vital records.  These backups are maintained in case of loss of the original or research copies of these records.  The microfilm vault is separate but adjacent to the Archives Barrett Building vault, and is designed for the permanent storage of non-paper media.  Such non-paper media include photograph negatives and computer generated records such as optical disks and magnetic tapes.

The photograph conservation unit preserves and duplicates photographs from the Archives collection for research and sale, and provides technical conservation services for deteriorating photographic records.  The paper conservation unit provides technical conservation services for deteriorating permanent paper documents in the Archives. 

Technical Services employs eleven people in the three functions.  Three positions are assigned to the photo conservation and processing lab, one position to the paper conservation lab, one position to WSA fiscal work, and the remaining staff to the micrographics production area.  All are housed in the Barrett Building.

Figure 2: Wyoming State Archives

Summary of Functional and Organizational Structure

State Archivist

Records Management

Develops records schedules for:

·      State government

·      Local government

·      Courts

Operates storage for inactive non-permanent state records

Archives

Manages and preserves permanent records from:

·      State government

·      Local government

·      Courts

Operates storage for permanent records

Technical  Services

Provides micrographics, photo conservation, and paper conservation services.

Operates storage for permanent state and local non-paper records

Current Storage Space and Capacity

WSA has approximately 74,000 cubic feet in storage capacity.

The state’s current storage capacity, including the Records Center, Archives South, and the Archives vault, is approximately 74,000 cubic feet.  Most of this space, 68,000 cubic feet, is in the warehouse facility in south Cheyenne that houses both Archives South and the Records Center.  The newly remodeled Barrett Building includes two climate-controlled vaults that are reserved for a limited volume of records requiring special storage conditions.  Figure 3 shows how WSA storage space is allocated.

Figure 3:  Wyoming State Archives

Storage Facilities

Cheyenne Warehouse

Archives South

Stores permanent state, local and court records.

Records Center

Stores non-permanent state government records.

Barrett Building

Archives Vault

Stores permanent state and local government records requiring special storage conditions.

Micrographics Vault

Stores permanent non-paper state and local government records requiring special storage conditions

WSA stores and manages records for $3.58 - $4.85 per cubic foot per year.

WSA receives about 6,000 cubic feet of records each year, and destroys 4,000 cubic feet.

Off-Site Storage is Cost-Effective:  The storage WSA provides in these two facilities is cost-effective compared to keeping the records in state office space.  We estimate the annual cost of maintaining a cubic foot of records in a state office building to be approximately $6.60 - $6.70, based solely on the cost of the space those records occupy.  In contrast, WSA stores and manages records in the Records Center for $3.58 per cubic foot, and $4.85 per cubic foot in Archives South.  See Appendix C for our methodology in estimating these costs.

Of the storage space in its facilities, WSA officials estimated that approximately 11,000 cubic feet is not filled.  However, roughly 3,000 cubic feet of that is in the Barrett vaults, which is space reserved for significant collections, such as governors’ papers, or low-volume fragile and valuable records.  Between transfers to Archives South and the Records Center, WSA receives about 6,000 cubic feet of non-permanent and permanent records each year, and destroys nearly 4,000 cubic feet.  A minimal amount is transferred to the Barrett Building vaults.

If the differences between the amounts of records annually transferred and destroyed remain constant with current rates, we estimate that the combined available paper record storage space (Archives South and Records Center) may be adequate for approximately four more years.  If WSA were to receive additional shelving in the amount it requested for the 2001-2002 biennium, and the rates remain constant, the space may be adequate for approximately another eleven years.

WSA Operates With a Small Budget

WSA operates on approximately       $1 million each year, all from the General Fund.

WSA does not budget for the cost of its storage space.

WSA’s budget for the 1999-2000 biennium was approximately $1.8 million, or about one-half of one percent of the state’s $3.25 billion budget during that biennium.  A 1994 national survey of archives and records management programs indicated that it is typical for such programs to represent a small portion of states’ overall budgets.  Proportionately, Wyoming’s program is more costly than the 1994 average (one-tenth of one percent).  According to an analysis of the survey, states with smaller total budgets typically spend more on archives and records programs, suggesting that there is a set of fixed costs in maintaining a functioning program.

WSA is funded entirely from the General Fund, but the state is able to recover a portion of those funds.  By providing record management services, WSA is one of five General Fund state agencies that generate federal cost allocation payments[1].  A few large federally funded state agencies provide cost allocation to the General Fund based upon the WSA services they use.  In FY 1999, WSA services generated approximately $276,000 to the General Fund.  Self-funded boards and commissions also allocate funds to the General Fund based on the WSA services they use.

WSA also generates revenue for the General Fund and for a special revenue fund for its own use through the sale of copies, photograph prints, and duplicate microfilm.  In FY99, WSA sales netted $11,155 to the General Fund and another $21,281 to a special revenue fund.  Other than for copies, it does not charge governmental entities for its services.

Most WSA Costs Are Personnel.  Professional literature indicates that archives and records management is a labor-intensive function.  Most WSA costs (90 percent) are for personnel services.  Its 25 FTEs include the state archivist, 3 section supervisors, 11 administrative specialists, and 10 non-supervisory professional positions.  Most of the professional positions are cultural resource specialists in the Archives section.

Nationally, major costs for archive programs are associated with maintaining storage space.  However, WSA does not budget for those costs because they are included in the Department of Administration and Information’s budget.  The exception is the cost of shelving, for which WSA must request funds in addition to its standard budget.

Previous Studies of WSA

1995 SHRAB report included a state assessment and a plan for the improvement of state records programs.

SHRAB has not been operational since release the 1995 report.

WSA strongly recommended against imposing fees for its services.

The Wyoming SHRAB Report.  In 1992, Governor Sullivan appointed the State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB), funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).  Members of this board included the state archivist, the state historian, and representatives from state and local governments and from private archives in the state.  Having a SHRAB is important to state archives and record management programs because it can provide leadership in the area of records management, as well as making certain grants available through the NHPRC.

·         Wyoming’s SHRAB received a grant in 1994 to meet and hire a private consultant to conduct a records assessment and strategic planning study.  The Wyoming SHRAB Report, published in 1995, recommended that WSA, in cooperation with SHRAB, should: 

·         Increase the knowledge of records creators through training.

·         Establish itself in the electronic records leadership position by forming an office of technology to assist state and local government agencies with creating and preserving electronic records.

·         Improve access to records in order to increase and facilitate their use.

·         Encourage local governments and organizations to take more responsibility in managing their records.

However, because ongoing funding was not sought to maintain it, SHRAB was discontinued after the report was published, and little has been done with the recommendations.  WSA has received a small grant from NHPRC to reconstitute SHRAB, and it is currently doing so.  WSA officials say the first priority will be to review the 1995 report recommendations.

Legislatively Directed Report on Fees.  In approving the 1995-96 WSA biennial budget, the Legislature directed the program to develop a fee schedule that would make it self-sufficient, and report on the feasibility of implementing the fee schedule.  WSA developed a schedule based on the level of services provided in 1994 and the cost of supporting the program that year. Proposed fees ranged from $30 per cubic foot for processing records into Archives South, to $11 per cubic foot for records transferred into the Records Center.  The WSA report proposed a $2.50 per cubic foot annual storage fee to maintain records in either facility, as well as fees for microfilming, records scheduling, and other services.

However, WSA strongly recommended against imposing the comprehensive fee schedule.  It maintained that doing so would cause many state agencies and political subdivisions to stop using WSA services because of lack of funds.  This, WSA contended, would be costly to both the state and local governments in the long term because records would be inefficiently managed.  Further, administering a fee structure would add costs and be cumbersome.

Urgent Need for WSA and Policy Makers to Respond To Records Management Issues

WSA faces challenges with electronic records.

Counting the SHRAB report and WSA’s own report related to implementing a fee structure, ours is the third study of this small but vital aspect of state government in the past five years.  In addition, the 1999 Joint Legislative and Executive Revenue and Expenditure study touched upon records management.  Yet, despite significant concerns with state records management expressed in earlier reports and by policymakers, we found that WSA has changed little in response to them.  As the 21^st century begins, WSA remains focused on the paper-based record keeping systems that are rapidly being replaced by electronic formats.  WSA must change so that it is positioned to address the challenges that all reports agree it faces. 

This report discusses areas where change is needed, and suggests ways to reallocate program resources.

The state is at a critical juncture with its records management program.

Our report discusses areas where change is needed, and suggests ways to reallocate resources internally to enable WSA to begin making those changes.  In Chapters 2 and 3, we discuss records management issues that the SHRAB also identified as priorities:  electronic records and records management training.  In addition, in Chapter 4, we discuss a WSA function, microfilming, that has not been specifically addressed in earlier reports.  We see all of these as critical areas in which WSA should take steps to improve its program.

In Chapter 5, we discuss WSA responsibilities for local government records.  SHRAB indirectly touched on this issue by recommending that there be an overall review and revision of statutes affecting WSA to ensure that they reflect its changing needs and responsibilities.  We again profile this need in light of the open-ended obligation that current statutes imply to WSA.

In Chapters 6, 7 and 8, we identify three aspects of WSA that should be evaluated for their relevance to current needs.  We see these as areas in which WSA could modify its procedures and activities and redirect its resources to meet the critical program needs addressed in the earlier chapters.

We believe it is important that both policy makers and WSA respond to this third report.  The state is facing a critical juncture with its records management program:  it could run out of storage space to maintain paper records in the next four years.  Moreover, staying focused on a paper-records system could create even more costs.  These will occur as governmental agencies, attracted by the increased productivity and access electronic records afford, implement systems without considering the records implications.