The federal government collects, generates, and uses large amounts of information in electronic form, from enormous geographic databases to individual e-mails. Much of that information can constitute official federal records, and agencies must have ways to manage such records. Under the Federal Records Act, each federal agency is required to make and preserve records that (1) document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and (2) provide the information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the government and of persons directly affected by the agency’s activities. If these records are not effectively managed, individuals might lose access to benefits for which they are entitled, the government could be exposed to legal liabilities, and historical records of vital interest could be lost forever. In addition, agencies with poorly managed records risk increased costs when attempting to search their records in response to Freedom of Information Act requests or litigation-related discovery actions. Finally, without effective management of the documentation of government actions, the ability of the people to hold the government accountable is jeopardized. Effective records management is also an important tool for efficient government operation. Without adequate and readily accessible documentation, agencies may not have access to important operational information to make decisions and carry out their missions. Accordingly, to ensure that they have appropriate recordkeeping systems with which to manage and preserve their records, agencies are required to develop records management programs. These programs are intended, among other things, to provide for accurate and complete documentation of the policies and transactions of each federal agency, to control the quality and quantity of records they produce, and to provide for judicious preservation and disposal of federal records. Among the activities of a records management program are identifying records and sources of records and providing records management guidance, including agency-specific recordkeeping practices that establish what records need to be created in order to conduct agency business. Under the Federal Records Act and the regulations issued by NARA, records must be effectively managed throughout their life cycle, which includes records creation or receipt, maintenance and use, and disposition. Agencies create records to meet the business needs and legal responsibilities of federal programs and (to the extent known) the needs of internal and external stakeholders who may make secondary use of the records. To maintain and use the records created, agencies are to establish internal recordkeeping requirements for maintaining records, consistently apply these requirements, and establish systems that allow them to find records that they need. Disposition involves transferring records of permanent, historical value to NARA for archiving and destroying all other records that are no longer needed for agency operations. One key records management process is scheduling, the means by which NARA and agencies identify federal records and determine time frames for disposition. Creating records schedules involves identifying and inventorying records, appraising their value, determining whether they are temporary or permanent, and determining how long records should be kept before they are destroyed or turned over to NARA for archiving. For example, one general records schedule permits civilian agencies to destroy case files for merit promotions (2 years after the personnel action is completed, or after an audit by the Office of Personnel Management, whichever is sooner). No record may be destroyed or permanently transferred to NARA unless it has been scheduled, so the schedule is of critical importance. Without schedules, agencies would have no clear criteria for when to dispose of records and, to avoid disposing of them unlawfully, would have to maintain them indefinitely. Scheduling records, electronic or otherwise, requires agencies to invest time and resources to analyze the information that an agency receives, produces, and uses to fulfill its mission. Such an analysis allows an agency to set up processes and structures to associate records with schedules and other information (metadata) to help it find and use records during their useful lives and dispose of those no longer needed. Records schedules are based on content and are media-neutral; that is, electronic records are classified on the same basis—by content— as physical records. In addition, agencies are to compile inventories of their information systems, after which the agency is required to develop a schedule for the electronic records maintained in those systems. NARA also has responsibilities related to scheduling records. NARA works with agencies to help schedule records, and it must approve all agency records schedules. It also develops and maintains general records schedules covering records common to several or all agencies. According to NARA, records covered by general records schedules make up about a third of all federal records. For the other two thirds, NARA and the agencies must agree upon agency-specific records schedules. Under the Federal Records Act, NARA is given general oversight responsibilities for records management as well as general responsibilities for archiving—the preservation in the National Archives of the United States of permanent records documenting the activities of the government. Of the total number of federal records, less than 3 percent are permanent. (However, under the act and other statutes, some of the responsibilities for oversight over federal records management are divided across several agencies. Under the Federal Records Act, NARA shares a number of records management responsibilities and authorities with the General Services Administration (GSA). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also has records management oversight responsibilities under the Paperwork Reduction Act and the E- Government Act.) For records management, NARA is responsible for issuing guidance; working with agencies to implement effective controls over the creation, maintenance, and use of records in the conduct of agency business; providing oversight of agencies’ records management programs; approving the disposition (destruction or preservation) of records; and providing storage facilities for agency records. The act also gives NARA the responsibility for conducting inspections or surveys of agency records and records management programs. Historically, despite the requirements of the Federal Records Act, records management has received low priority within the federal government. As early as 1981, in a report entitled Federal Records Management: A History of Neglect, we stated that “persistent records management shortcomings” had been attributed to causes that included “lack of commitment by top management, emphasis on agency missions, and the low priority of records management.” Almost 30 years later, the priority problem has remained remarkably persistent. For instance, a 2001 study prepared for NARA by SRA International, Inc., on perceptions in the federal government with respect to records management, concluded that recordkeeping and records management in general receive low priority, as evidenced by lack of staff or budget resources, absence of up-to-date policies and procedures, lack of training, and lack of accountability. This assessment also concluded that although agencies were creating and maintaining records appropriately, most electronic records remained unscheduled, and records of historical value were not being identified and provided to NARA for archiving. In 2002, drawing on the 2001 study, we reported that the low priority given to records management programs was a factor in program weaknesses. We noted that records management is generally considered a “support” activity. Because support functions are typically the most dispensable in agencies, resources for and focus on these functions are often limited. In 2008, we reported on weaknesses in federal e-mail management at four agencies. The four agencies reviewed generally managed e- mail records through paper-based processes, rather than using electronic recordkeeping. (A transition to electronic recordkeeping was under way at one of the four agencies, and two had long-term plans to use electronic recordkeeping.) We attributed weaknesses in agency e-mail management (such as senior officials not conforming to regulations) to factors including insufficient training and oversight regarding recordkeeping practices (as well as the onerousness of handling large volumes of e-mail)—similar to the effects of low priority described by SRA. Accordingly, we recommended that agencies with weaknesses in oversight, policies, and practices develop and apply oversight practices, such as reviews and monitoring of records management training and practices, that would be adequate to ensure that policies were effective and that staff were adequately trained and were implementing policies appropriately. Further evidence of the persistence of the priority issue was provided in 2008, when NARA surveyed federal senior managers about their perception of records management. According to the survey, only 64 percent of managers saw records management as a useful tool for mitigating risk. In April 2010, NARA released a report on its first annual records management self-assessment, which analyzed responses to a survey sent in September 2009 to 245 federal cabinet-level agencies, agency components, and independent agencies. According to NARA, the survey results showed that almost 80 percent of agencies were at moderate to high risk of improper disposition of records. For example, the survey found that not all agencies had appropriate policies in place for handling e-mail, and that only a little over half of the responding agencies had training in place for high-level executives and political appointees on how to manage e-mail; this is consistent with the finding in our 2008 report on e-mail practices regarding insufficient training and oversight regarding recordkeeping practices. NARA rated almost half of the responding agencies (105 of 221) as high risk in the area of e-mail. NARA’s survey also indicated, among other things, that a large proportion of agencies have not scheduled existing systems that contain electronic records. In December 2005, NARA issued a bulletin requiring agencies to have NARA-approved records schedules for all records in existing electronic information systems by September 30, 2009. 27 percent of agencies responding to NARA’s September 2009 agency self-assessment survey indicated that fewer than half of their electronic systems were scheduled. Such large numbers of unscheduled systems are a problem for agencies because their records cannot legally be disposed of, with the consequences for increased cost and risk mentioned earlier. NARA concluded that the varying levels of agency compliance with its records management regulations and policies have implications for the government’s effectiveness and efficiency in conducting its business, protecting citizens’ rights, assuring government accountability, and preserving our national history.