The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) Records Management Section recently completed its first published Annual Report of activities. The Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report gives readers a look into Archival Appraisal/Records Management work and provides key updates from October 2018 to September 2019.
The 19-page report includes highlights from the State and Local Government Records Commission meetings, permanent records transmittal, and records management activities for state and local governments.
State agencies transferred 527 cubic feet of permanent records in FY 2019 to the ADAH. Some examples of those transmittals include 18 cubic feet of audio recordings, video, and images of field records from the State Council on the Arts; 7 cubic feet of negatives and photographs from Governor Fob James’ administration, and Department of Mental Health patient admission records from Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa dating from 1861 to 1952.
Each year, Records Management Section staff assist agencies by providing free, on-site records-management training. For FY 2019, staff conducted 76 total outreach sessions with 548 attendees and answered 1,386 total inquiries from state and local governments.
Destroying eligible obsolete temporary records is an important component of records management, so that limited resources can be focused on historic permanent and active records. As such, staff reviewed destruction notices covering over 27,000 cubic feet of local government records, while state agencies reported over 28,000 cubic feet of obsolete records destruction for FY 2019.
The report also spotlights the Alabama State Electronic Records Project (ASERP), which concluded in December 2019, and our ongoing work on the long-term preservation of born-digital records, including making several collections available online including Governor Bob Riley Office Files; Governor Bob Riley Photographs; House and Senate Journals; and state agency publications such as annual reports and newsletters.
Records Management Section staff work with state and local agencies to organize, manage, and preserve their records for long-term access. This work is vital to the preservation of government records for the benefit of current and future generations of Alabamians. If you have any questions or are interested in training, please reach out to the Records Management staff.
For the Record 