You are receiving this e-mail as a subscriber to the Virginia Records Officer Listserv (VA-ROL). # # I have a feeling many agencies are in the same boat as I was. The records officer retired and duties were transferred to another staff whose workload was too much to provide the attention this duty requires. So when I got it, it was pretty messy. It took a while, and with the Library's assistance, I was able to make sense of what I had and what needed to be done. Our agency, as does everyone else, uses the general schedules and agency-specific schedules. While working with our agency-specific schedules, we found many areas that needed attention and are continuing our updates to make it much easier and cleaner for staff to use. Lucky for me, I have had two wonderful Library analysts, and without them, I could not have accomplished the task set before me. Familiarizing yourself with the agency-specific AND general schedules is very important and a must before you attempt to tackle your agency's records. The more I work with them, the easier the task of retention/destruction has become. One particular area I struggle with is making sure staff is using the most up to date schedules and reminding them of the difference between calendar and fiscal year and the impact of combining the two. For instance, if they use December 31 as the "end" date range when the series specifies fiscal year, the records have to be held longer. To combat that, I do not approve and sign the RM3 - I return it to them requiring them to change the end date to June 30. This has worked very well. The best advice I can give about this is to create a binder with all schedules that you will use (state and agency-specific) as well as the manual, forms, etc. Go through this regularly and you will be surprised how familiar you become with your schedules. When in doubt, use your Library analyst - they are a wealth of information. Thanks for allowing me to participate and let me know if you have any questions. Martha Martha G. Hazelgrove Administrative Assistant to the Deputy of Administration and Finance Department of Juvenile Justice 600 East Main Street 20th Floor Richmond, Virginia 23219 Phone 804-588-3945 Fax 804-371-6497 From: Virginia Records Officer's Listserv [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Graham, Jessie (LVA) Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 3:36 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Need assistance with session content - What it means to be a records officer You are receiving this e-mail as a subscriber to the Virginia Records Officer Listserv (VA-ROL). # # Hi Records Officers, The Library of Virginia has plans to celebrate Records Management Month in April and we're working on a session devoted to what it means to be a records officer. In order to make the content useful for attendees, we are in need of some assistance! Veteran records officers: What have you learned along the way that would've been nice to have known when you started as a records officer? Are there aspects of the job that you still struggle with? New records officers: What do you need help with? What questions do you have that aren't answered on our web site? We'd value any and all input you have regarding the duties of the designated records officer. Hope to hear from you! Jessie Jessie R. Graham Records Analyst The Library of Virginia (804) 692-3802 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> To UNSUBSCRIBE, change options, or subscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-rol.html (If using Netscape, must have version 6.1 or higher to view the above page) To UNSUBSCRIBE, change options, or subscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-rol.html (If using Netscape, must have version 6.1 or higher to view the above page)