Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies regarding the difference between the State Archives and the State Records Center when transferring material to fulfill the requirements of approved retention schedules.
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies on required retention of working documents and drafts.
Working documents and drafts are public records but they might only need to be retained for a brief period of time if they do not have significant administrative, legal, fiscal or historical value.
Considerations when retaining working documents and drafts:
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies regarding the definition of a record for the purposes of records retention.
As a state government employee, you are responsible for managing any and all records, regardless of media or characteristics, that are created within your agency. If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, the item in question is a record and must be retained:
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies on record terms.
RECORD means all documentary material in any format (paper, digital records including e-mail), made or received and maintained by an agency in accordance with law or rule, or in the transaction of its official business.
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies on determining retention for their agency-specific record schedules. (The state's General Schedules are used in conjunction with agency-specific schedules).
Purpose: Provide guidance to agencies on what records to keep documenting COVID-19 for historic purposes.
Purpose: Provide guidance to agencies on how long to keep COVID-19 logs and screenings administered by the agency to employees and visitors for the purpose of contact tracing.
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies regarding the importance of preserving the archival records of the State of Maine.
The purpose of the Maine State Archives is to make the operations of state and local government more efficient, more effective and more economical through records management. The Archives does this by preserving the permanent historical records of Maine and providing access to the public.
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government employees on how to properly manage the records within their agency.
Title 5 §95 requires that all state government records be covered by retention schedules. This includes records that never leave the creating agency's custody. A records schedule describes agency records, establishes a period for their retention by the agency, and provides mandatory instructions for what to do with them when they are no longer needed for current government business.
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies on four simple steps to assist with better file management.
There are a number of valid reasons for creating files, such as statutory requirements, regulation, management reporting, and program administration. It is important to concentrate on the files that directly support your agency?s mission.
Four Steps to Better Files
