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State Agencies
Archives > Services To Government
Services to State Government
Records Management of State Government Records
Each year thousands of records are generated and collected by state government agencies to
fulfill mandated programs and responsibilities. The Code of Iowa provides that all records
created in the course of conducting state business are public records. Iowa has established a State
Records Management Program with a State Records Commission comprised of ranking state
officials to evaluate records as they are created by state government to determine how long
individual records must be kept to: protect the rights of Iowa’s citizens, meet the administrative,
fiscal and legal requirements for the records in the agency, and identify the records of enduring
historical value to be preserved permanently by the state.
Under the Records Management System, Records Officers for each agency of state government
assist their agency officials with identification of records series and with preparation and/or
revision of records retention schedules for approval by the State Records Commission. The State
Records Manual identifies records by series and establishes the time-frames for preservation of
these records.
The State Records Manual is arranged by retention schedule reference number. Use the find
option to locate a particular record series by title or reference number. For a listing of all of your
agency/department record series:
1. Right click the first page
2. Select “Show Navigation Pane Button”
3. Click on the Benchmark Button which is the second icon down on the left
4. Click on your agency or department. The series which appear are those for which your
department is the agency of record. For general agency-wide series retention schedules
click on Agency.
For a complete up to date listing of the all retention schedules including those revised after July
18, 2010, refer to the Infolinx Records Management System, discussed below.
State Records Center
In addition to providing training for agencies on records management issues, the Department of
Cultural Affairs through the State Archives is responsible for administering the State Records
Center which provides offsite warehouse storage for non-historic and non-permanent state
government records received prior to March 1, 2015. All records stored at the State Records
Center remain in the custody of the agency and access to the records is provided through the
agency. Historic records scheduled for permanent preservation, which are sent to the State
Archives, are legally transferred to custody of the State Archives.
State agency records officers should continue to use Infolinx to document boxes and generate bar
coded labels prior to transfer of historic and permanent state government records. Lists of those
boxes can be exported from Infolinx to be printed for attachment to the hard copy archives
transfer form. The State Archives will continue training agency records officers in use of
Infolinx to document State Archives boxes that will receive bar code labels.
Using Infolinx. To review records to the State Records Center, agency records officers need to
use Infolinx, a web based records management system used for inventory control of state
government records at the State Records Center. Infolinx may also be used for inventory control
in the agency. All Records Series Retention Schedules are current in Infolinx.
Contact staff at the State Archives and Records Program for setting up a username and password
for Infolinx. Listed below are step by step instructions in using the Infolinx system for specific
functions:
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Looking-Up Retention Schedules and Reference Numbers
Creating a New Box in Infolinx
Creating a Transfer Place and Transferring Records to the State Records Center
Printing Labels of Newly Created Boxes
Retrieving Boxes from State Records Center
Identify Box Locations
Determining the Destruction Date Established for a Box
The following helpful hints to facilitate entry of data into Infolinx entitled Getting Started Using
Infolinx have been developed by records officers.
Packing Boxes for Transfer to State Records Center
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Use Records Storage Cartons - 12”x15”x 10” (one cu.ft. boxes) for all records.
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Identify the Reference Number of the Records Series. Do not include any records which
are not a part of the series.
All records are recycled at the time of destruction. Boxes must contain only paper
products. All non-recyclable items, i.e plastic binders, three-ring binders, etc. should be
removed before transfer to the SRC. All microforms and audio cassette tapes are to be
boxed separately from the papers records belonging to the series.
Identify the boxes which contain microforms and audio tapes. These boxes will require
special handling at destruction. Be sure to include notation of the format of the records in
the field for the Box Description.
Pack the records in the same order that they are filed in the office.
o Records should be left in the folders; ring binders should be removed.
o All folder labels should face the same direction.
Letter size documents and folders should be placed facing the 12” box front.
Legal size documents and folders should be placed lengthwise facing the 15” side of the
box.
Boxes should be packed to make good use of storage space; weighing 25-30 pounds.
Leave a 1” to 1.5” clearance in each box - to facilitate reference and ease of retrieval and
refilling.
Place label on the front end of box in the lower left hand corner of box.
Records officers may request assistance with records management questions such as how to
establish or make changes in records retention and disposition schedules from State Records
Commission. They may also seek assistance concerning the use of Infolinx including how to set
up usernames and passwords, retrieve records and identify boxes in the Records Center
scheduled for destruction.
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