THE CHALLENGE OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70-00211R000500050038-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 14, 2005
• Sequence Number: 38
• Content Type: SPEECH

TH:I CHALL.114Gi OF R CORDS d'.e-iAG&Az=
(Ada fted
given at the Records Officers" Conference, 4-5 November 1999.)
I'm sure most of you recall these words of Rgdyard Yiplitf:
"I keep six honest servtfg-ten,
(They taught no all. I knew):
Their names are What. and Whey and When
And How and Where and Who.
Today. with apolot-fes to Mr. Kiplin;r, but in keeping with the pablio speaking
principle of covering but three min points, I should like to cover the Whit.
Why, and How of Records Management. Specifically. I should like to anaier
these questions: W is Records Management? is it needed? and UK can
your records management program be med. mere effective.
I wish to answer those questions to that with a better understanding of Records
Management you can do two things:
1. Measure the needs of your office for a more effective Records
Management Program, and ...
2. Determine how the Records Management Staff can help you meet
these needs.
To develop an understanding of Records Management* permit roe to draw an analogy..
The water in our mLgtity rivers is.essential. But at times these waters have
gone out of control; the rivers have overflowed their banks; waste and destruction
have resulted.
Paperwork too, is essential. Indeed it is the life blood of 2Z agency. But
paperwork too, if it remains uncontrolled, can become a wasteful, unmanageable
torrent.
Civil engineers have, out of necessity, developed flood control programs.
I gnagement engineers, equally out of necessity, have designed a paperwork
control program. :4e call this program Records Management.
We've stop'--ed just cussing paperwork. Now we're damming it also.
In drawing this analogy, I use the words "control" and "dam" reservedly, for
fear that some of you will interpret Records Management as a work stoppage -
a no progress action.
To the contrary, as I shall demonstrate, Records Management is an action pro.
gram, it produces results.
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 The term control simply refers to an organized approach. tailored according
` to certain s& MM IPA FtW@M W ~ bMbA?4rQMNWWO =ch
as the integration into a going program of all the elements needed to manage
paperwork from its creation to its cremation.
So lets.take a few moments to look at the various elements that go into the
building of a paperwork flood control project.
To manage paperwork at its source, you should direct attention to your forms,
reports and correspondence. While different standards and appmebss are
applied to managing each of there record making elements. I've grouped them
together for brevity, and since in general they have these common goals:
1. Improve the quality of pa;.wxwork
2. Atminats and prevent unnecessary paperwork, and
3. Reduce the cost of creating paperwork
To manage the keeping of records, your program should cover
1. Filing supplies and 2quipment
2. File locations, systems and classification plans
3. Document processing and control, and
4. Vital Records
This coverage will :
1. Reduce costs for supplies, equipment, and office space.
2. Increase filing; qrd finding efficiency
3. Speed up the processing and locating of documents
4. Lnsure continued operations in the event of a disaster.
To manage the disposition of records, your program should includes
1. Active Records Control Schedules on all records, and
2. Use of Records Center facilities.
By an "Active Records Control Schedule" I am referring; to a current, approved
schedule (or inventory, if you wish) of your records holdings - a schedule
which provides the legal authority to destroy records, or to rotire them to
the Records Center. The word "Active" also implies that such a schedule is
being applied.
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 The Records Control Schedule therefore is the key to records disposition.
which in turppMed For Release 2005/07/25 : CIA-RDP70-00211 R000500050038-9
1. Save Office Ste... by removing from your office those
records no longer needed in daily operations.
2. SSave XgLe ewe a d fii tima-... 11W separating ineotiw
records from active material.
3. Redu i i anent accts... by pmentift the purchase
of additional equipment or by releasing equipment for ure in
other components. and
4. dentifl Derpan0ntlT yaluab a reaordg... those records of
archival value to the Agency.
Thus, in the time permitted, I hope I have shown what Records Yanagewant Is.
To summarize a moment. let'a get back to the dam.
These, thereforeq are the basis elements of paperwork that should be covered
if a Records Management program is to be effective. The absence of arq seg-
ment of the dam would result in dollar leaks as assuredly as a hole in the
bottom of the Hoover Dam would drain Lake Mead. Ism sure I can illustrate
this more vividly in covering point two of this talk. ""Why is Records Manage-
ment seeded?"
We have two reasons for a Records Management Program - a legal one
and a moral one.
The legal one sterns from a history of attempts at records management dating
back to the late 1$00es. Prior toWorld'War I four separate congressional
committee ttaeked the mounting records problem. Some of their recommen-
dations are commonplace today. They concerned the use of typewriters and
carbon paperp subject and decimal filing, and the disposal of useless files.
Unfortunately. these early commissions brour.ht about only transitory results.
World War I, the public support years drain; the depressiona and World Tar 11,
increased Federal records holding to a point that demanded drastic action.
The military services took the lead. Of these* the Navy Department made the
greatest strides. The Navy plan brought all of the elements of records man-
agement, that is, record making, record keeping, and records disposition
within the scope of a coordinated program. This concept is still advocated
today.
I would say, therefore, that, notwithstanding the accomplishments of other
agencies, some of which pre-dated Naves, the Navy Department deserves much
credit for the success of Records Management in Government today.
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 In particular, Navy9s accomplishments lead to the recommendations of the
First Roo ppri3m iet ltpsI 5/~ : Nttlaialh'71f -WPtP"W0AA 9k of
FL 754, referred to as the Federal Records Act of 1950.
The Federal Records Act Is CIA's legal authority for a Records Management
TroCram. The Act is also our legal obligation, for the Ueneral Uouneel,
in October 1950, rendered the opinion that the Agency shalt comply with
the Federal Records Act to the fullest extent possible.
The Federal Records Act charges the head'of each Federal Agency with the
responsibility for: "establishing and maintaining an active continuing.
program for the economical and efficient management of the records of the
agency."
This Act, therefore, together with. the Ueneral Uounsel"s opinion, and the
Agency Records Management Regulation, -+ J, form the foundation ror the
Agency's Records Management Program.
As, I said, the Agency also has a moral reason, for practicing records man.
arement. Our moral obligation, and the obligation of each Government agency,
was brought forcefully home in 1954 when the Second Hoover Commission re-
ported that each year the Government spends 4 billion to handle 25 billion
pieces of paper, and that $225 million dollars of this amount could be saved
by greater emphasis on paperwork economy.
But what about ourselves. Do we fit into the picture drayn by the Hoover
Commission. Most emphatically: "Yes, we dog"
There are those, however, who may think otherwise, who feel that CIA is
different, and that its records problems can't be compared with those of
other agencies. This kind of statement is sometimes offered with the hope
that ,is can turn our.backs to the problem.
To those people, -I say, we .g different. And this difference makes records
management even more appropriate to CIA than it is to many other agencies,
Obviously. our security measures and the nature of intelligence activities
generate paperwork which would i.e considered abnormal in other agencies,
MiSoreovera we must retain our records for long, sometimes undetermined
periods if we are to carry out our intelligence mission.
Look at the effect that this has had on our record volume. Since 1952 our
records volume has almost tripled. Fortunately, increased records manage..
ment activity in the past four years has brought about a, marked decline in
the rate of increase.
But the Agency is still creating each year some 200 million pages of record
material. (And heaven only knows how much we receive from the outside.)
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 No wonder Mr. Kirkpatrick, was quoted as sayings
"There are ti&WWWd fotlBsiieaear2( td: IPRtiF bJW21RWb"M -9
be to bundle up most of our paper and drop it on these."
As I stand here, realiatna that &M Y mirrnte soma 1600 pieces of payer
are being ground out in the Agency. I begin to feel there is sow value
in long winded speeches and drawn out conferences. At least the oaptivo
group is not bank at the office Creating arp- more papestwork.
Unquestionably, the overall need for records management is great. Let's
ta'_e a few moments, then, to eswadne this need according to the min elm.
msnte of records srrmgemeut. I would like to do this by first showing you
what has been donsp and then what's to he dons.
In 19540 almost 1100 forms were under control. Since then about 2.000 near
forms have been brought within the scope of the Forms Management Program.
Simple addition would give you an inventory today of 3.100 forms. T isver,
the number of forms under control today is less than 2,000. The 1.100 or
so forms not included in today's inventory are the ono* obsoleted through
forms analysis.
This Is Forms Iianagament in action, not in theory. A continuous Oost+reduction
effort, aimed at putting well.-designed. efficient-to-use forms in the hands
of our people while seeing to it that unnecessary forms are avoided or
eliminated. in.
This slide also shoos another result of Forms tanagemrent. An we have
has
creased our forms analysis activity, the average annual usage was per
over m has
decreased. Prior to 1955 the average annual usage per form
copies. Since then, with more forms being brought under oontroli the annual
usage per form has averaged less than 13,000 copies. At todays inventory,
this reduction represents the avoidance of printing, handling, and stocking
almost 12 million forms for the current year.
But let's look at the other side of the picture.
There's a big job still to be done in form management. In addition to
providing continuous service on the forms already under control, there is
tt;e staggering task of rounding up and analyzing the thousands of "bootleg"
forms that the do-it-yourself addicts have developed. We estimate that
there are at least 20.000 of these.
In Reports Management, unquestionably, there is more ahead than behind us.
However, we have made some progress.
In late 1955 and early 1956. with the help of Operating Offices, we inven-
toried and analyzed all the reports in the DD/S and WJI areas. We dis?
covered several interesting things.
40 5.0
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 1. In the DD/S and M. aU man hours gar year are .11 sp pgfp el 2h@M cc-- V0 1ti1 K$OOOM 8-9
._ s..........4~~rA 4bA1*1v Within 0%wrat n
3+ d 56 eliminated produces result ep portingannual man hours of re.
S5 an
4. The survey pointed out that if reports management is to continue
successfully, that is, as a paperwork control technique, it
must be applied to every administrative reporting requirement in
every component in the Agency.
IIaua this is a big order,, and :is've never had the manpower for a program of
such scope. But as somebody once said: 'Life by the yard is hard, but
by the inch it's a cinch." So instead of biting off the entire problem,
we can approach it step.-bystep.
One approach, and it appears to be the one most logical and feasible. at as
to examino the reporting requirements within only one support
time, but to do this from top to bottom within a given organization. Of
We
course, the larger the organization, the more effective the study.
could, for example, start with a support function such as training, and
trace the effect of its reporting requirements on all Agency components.
Simultaneously, a screening system would be established to ensure that
all proposed requirements for reports are reviewed for necessity prior to
being levied. I would also propose that all approved reporting require=
monts be assigned.a symbol to indicate their approved status and to identify
them for possible future study.
I feel that this step is essential. There's no point in rounding up a
them
bunch of mavericks unless you tu'and them. so that you can check up later on.
The third element in the management of recd d making is Correspondence
Ianagement.
In this field, too, we have made encouraging progress--some through friendly
persuasion asd vim manual ue~spoen fficial Asan Faso of
the latter.
puic;ltshed in the handbook series.
But we've discovered that pride of authorship plays such an important role
in the correspondence field, that the friendly persuasion approach pro?
duces better results than regulations. On this premise, we have promoted
rather than regulated such practices ass
.6.
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 1. The a of b slips, telephone calls, personal contacts.
M r3a~ob8-9
o~ U~,
ans to elimtnate the used for Q spo
2. The elimination of nonsesential copies.
The use of form letters and pattern paragraphs to handle routine
repetitive-type oorrespot4enaS.
4. The use of judgment in app a letter for at#rr ture. putttsi
aside whim and personal preferences. and
~. The technique of writing to expresse not impress.
Obviously, these are practices that can't be regulated. So wo have promoted
b l i c i s i n g and making a v a i l a b l e booklets b y General Servtos Adam.
tht by pu goy Lett , and Guide Let ere, as well as
i s t r atioar such as VIntg 38tt
~R?
pamphlets, articl1se and fl.aers written, by the Records Xarmgement
Staff- addition, to cover the field fully, we are constantly on the alert for
new labor saving devices to provide our Agency typists and stenographers
with the best tools to do their jobs. Inaident3y hors we get quite an
assist from the gals themselves with their employee suggestions.
Turning re=r to a will be main2yIn
a coontinuation oof past aotivity,3with that
onr future Program
greater emphasis in cone areas.
For example. a U. S. Government Correspondence its inual has been developed
under the auspices of the General Services Administration. CIA was priv-
ileged to be represented on the working committee that d relaped the manual.
All Government agencies are being asked to its obligation we b should
adopt it in whole or .in part. For CIA to carry out manual. This Will
form a correspondence style board to pass judgment on the tbe an excellent opportunity for as to reappraise ~~ e~ycor correspondence
practices in light of what the leading correspondence
ment have recommended.
There are also many opportunities to reduce the cost of repetitive routine
correspondence by developing form and guide letters. And ppnk . pmacr of
articularly
the form letters presently used could stand some polishing,
those, like the bootleg forms, that have been run off on ditto and m'taaeo-
graph machines by the do-it-yourselfers.
And as shalle continue our search continue
for Letter tools for the cecretar7 devices, we
and typist.
With Correspondence Management I have thus covered the need for Records
~ 7 r
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 i:anageinont in the record making fields that tag the need for Forms Lanage-
ment, ReportaPl~~A t ,~19t~ ~~i dA ~d~A~,11 .iA~ 3 6t>
therefore. into the field of record keeping.
It has been said twat a records management program that does not control
the utilization or Min,-, supplies and equipment is doomed to failure. 1
can telieve this.
Consider for a moment what the Agency situation would Le today if the condi..
tions of about 1952 had beers continued. At that time 54 types of folders
were being purchased. ky the Agency. Today we stock only nine types. Seven-
teen types of safes were being stocked; noc: we carry only six.
Also, in the early days of the Programg poor or little use was being made
of specialized files. Today, with more experience in this field, we are
able to advise officers on the advantages and disadvantages of using the
many types of mechanized files, as well as the recent substitute for filing
cabinets