AGENCY RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM JANUARY - DECEMBER 1959

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00005R000100010021-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 4, 2001
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: December 1, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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JANUARY - DECEMBER 1959
PART I - Program Highlights
The year 1959 was a significant one in CIA for records management.
For the first time in the Agency's history, a fiscal year ended during
which not a single dollar was obligated for the ;purchase of filing cab-
inets. In contrast, obligations in 1954 and prior years were over $
million each year, and in 1955 through 1958 they were about $200,000
yearly. The reduction of obligations to zero in. FY 1959 is expected
to be repeated during the current fiscal year.
These steady reductions in equipment costs resulted primarily from
increased attention to three aspects of records management: (1) the
retirement of inactive records to the Agency Records Center; (2 the
prompt destruction of temporary records in offices; and (3) the close
scrutiny of equipment use. Area Records Officers and the people they
'served played major roles in achieving these cost reductions. It is
also significant that the volume of paperwork in the Agency increased
during the same period these cost reductions occurred.
Records management again contributed to "holding the line" on
requirements for additional headquarters office space. Over 27,000
square feet of floor space were made available for current and expand-
ing operations by removing inactive records from offices and by using
specialized space saving filing techniques. Again, Area Records
Officers and other operating personnel deserve a major share of the
credit for this achievement.
3- AGENCY FORMS INVENTORY HELD TO 2)000
An important function of records management is the removal of
obsolete forms from the Agency's inventory. This activity is essential
to offset the steadily increasing demand for forms, and the mounting
costs to procure stock and handle them. In 1959, the purging activity
hit a new high; 339 forms were eliminated for an eight year total of
1,421. Only by this dogged and continuing review has the Records
Management Staff been able to hold the Agency's inventory to a low
figure of around 2,000 forms.
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4. VITAL MATERIALS AND RECORDS CENTER OPERATIONS CONSOLIDATED
To capitalize on the excellent facilities of the Records Center
and the number of people there that could perform both Records
Center and VM operations, a decision was made to consolidate the two
functions. Other advantages of the move are the elimination of one
position and the release of supply storage space needed by the station.
5. RECORDS CENTER ACTIVITY INCREASES 66%
The Records Center received 17,029 cubic feet of records in 1959,
5,686 cubic feet, or 66%, more than in 1958. Coincidentally, there
was an identical percentage of increase in the volume of reference
and service activity at the Center. These increases were handled
without additional personnel or overtime.
6. RECORDS MANAGEMENT TRAINING INCREASED
In the belief that records management is everybody's business, or
stated another way, that components creating paperwork should share
equally in managing it, the Records Management; Staff stepped up its
training program. Moreover, a steady decline in the number of people
on the Records Management Staff from 26 in 1954 to 17 in 1959:
(1) Calls for greater Program participation by Area Records Officers
and other operating personnel, and (2) increases the demand for records
managers who have the qualifications to direct attention to the full
cycle of paperwork, from its creation to its final disposition.
7. RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM GETS TOP-LEVEL SUPPORT
Sparked by a DCI staff meeting presentation, given by the Chief,
Management Staff, Mr. Dulles expressed full support to the Program
and directed that immediate measures be taken to reduce records
holdings. Directives from Deputy Directors and Operating Officials
gave further impetus to increasing records disposition activity at
headquarters.
8. AGENCY RECORDS MANAGEMENT INFLUENCES GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY
The influence of the Records Management Program and its partici-
pants was not confined entirely to CIA during 1959. In recognition
of their professional standing, members of the Staff were called upon
to direct or participate in programs of the National Archives and
S- -
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8. AGENCY RECORDS MANAGEMENT INFLUENCES GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY (Cont'd)
Records Service, the Inter-agency Records Administration Conference,
and the American Management Association. In addition, through their
relationships and exchanges of ideas with their counterparts in other
agencies, Records Management Staff Personnel regularly contributed
to the general advancement of records management in Government.
PART II - Summary of Activities
1, Management of Record Making
During 1959, 1,352 forms. analysis projects were conducted, involving
225 new, 298 revised, and 829 reprinted forms. Typical benefits from
these and other forms analysis projects were:
a. Eliminated clerical effort valued at $1+,000 in the pre-
paration and handling of Personnel Record Questionnaires.
be Collaborated with the Supply Division on purging 79 non-
standard forms from its operations.
c. Eliminated 12 nonstandard safe check sheets and replaced
them with the official Agency form?
d. Simplified and reduced the size of the Request for Internal
Training form. Color coding of sheets will clarify copy
requirements and eliminate the yearly preparation of some
20,000 forms.
e. Improved the Employee Suggestion form by providing for:
(1) Window envelope transmittal, (2) speedier preparation
'of the form and completion of the acknowledgement section
by the suggester, and (3) dissemination of information
on the Suggestion Awards Program,
f. Redesigned the Travel Order form and developed a companion
worksheet. The worksheet serves as a rougl fi draft and check
list, thus speeding Travel Order processing. Seventeen non-
standard work sheets were eliminated by the standard form.
Also, the number of copies in the Travel Order set was re-
duced from 12 to 9.
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1. Management of Record Making (Cont'd)
g. Further advanced the improvement and standardization of
information reports by revising the Agency "hot" information
report format. This format was the last one not complying
with the common format. Other actions in this significant
field included:
(1) Adoptian of the common format by Army, which
undoubtedly will induce other members of the
community to adopt the format,.
(2).Improvements in the quality of report masters,
and in their care and handling, which sub-
stantially lowered the retyping incidence.
(3) Reduction in shipping costs.
(1i) Speedier reproduction of reports.
h. Further improved the general management of forms.
A survey.of 334+ overseas forms resulted in discontinuing
18, removing 1 from the overseas category, and revising
45 more. The was activated as the forms
supply point for all BE stations. This is the third
supply point of this kind. Indices of overseas forms
were published quarterly. Steps were taken to increase
the accuracy and timeliness of the Agency forms catalog.
In 1959, Reports Management and Correspondence Management were
continued as integral elements of the Records Management Program, but
on a limited basis because of emphasis on other Program activities.
Instruction in reports and correspondence management was given to
on-the-job trainees. In addition, these Program elements were given
'further coverage through evaluation of employee suggestions, promotion
of labor saving typists supplies, and completion of a Staff member's
assignment with the U. S. Government Correspondence Manual Committee.
2. Management of Record Keeping
Close attention to the use of both standard and specialized filing
equipment again paid dividends in 1959. Actions such as the following
prevented purchases of an estimated $62,755 worth of additional equip-
ment:
a. Replaced seven card-safes with seven card-cabinets in a secured
area.
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2. Management of Record Keeping.(cont'd)
b. Arranged for the return of Herring-Hall-Marvin safes to stock
in exchange for Remington Rand safes, thus preventing the
purchase of 100 Herring-Hall-Marvin safes for use overseas.
c. Recommended the purchase of an open tray card file costing
only $1324 in lieu of mechanized equipment costing from $875
to $1,150-
d. Recommended cancellation of a requisition for $7,000 worth of
mechanized filing equipment considered nonessential.
e. Constructed a filing station from stock items thus preventing
the purchase of $2,000 worth of card filing equipment.
f. Examined a sampling of about 3,000 safe check sheets and
identified 20 pieces of unused or seldom used filing equipment.
The return to stock of this equipment and the cancellation of
a requisition for two safes avoided equipment purchases
totaling $9,380.
Ten additional shelf file installations were completed. There are
now 22 installations, 20 in Headquarters and two in the - field.
Eight other installations are under consideration, four of which are
in field stations. Benefits from the ten installations completed in
1959 were;
Total capacity before filing
(linear feet of records)
1,670
Total capacity after shelf filing
(linear feet of records)
2,4966
Percentage of increase in filing capacity
49%o
Total Sq. Ft. of floor space originally required
738
Total Sq. Ft. of floor space now required for
shelf filing
302
Percentage of decrease in floor space required
59%
Value of filing cabinets replaced by shelf
filing equipment and returned to stock $39,861
Cost of shelf filing equipment 9,346
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2. Management of Record Keeping (cont'd)
Progress continued toward converting administrative files to the
Agency standard subject-numeric system. Two approaches were taken in
1959: (1) Actual conduct of conversions by Records Management Staff
personnel, and (2) workshop training of files personnel. Eight
systems were installed through the first method, for a total of 200
installations in headquarters, out of a potential of 359. The second
approach, a collaborative effort with the Office of Training, should
result in a considerable number of additional installations. Three
workshops were conducted, attended by 126 people from 31 offices.
An unclassified version of the Agency handbook on subject-numeric
filing was also published for use of workshop trainees and overseas
personnel.
Other improvements in record keeping were:
a. Converted logging systems in two offices from book methods
to 3" x 5" mail control forms. In addition, a revision of
Form 240, Courier Receipt and Iog Record, increased its use
as a logging, transmitting, and receipting form.
b. Installed case file systems in three Management Staff 0 & M
offices.
c. Revised the filing system of an office in SR/DDP, thus
providing additional working and filing space and releasing
two card safes for return to stock.
3. Management of Records Disposition
Emphasis on improving existing Records Control Schedules continued
in 1959. Schedules for five offices were audited and revised by the
Records Management Staff. Four other schedules, audited or developed
by operating comEponents, were reviewed byl;.the Staff.- In addition;
the Staff surveyed records under jurisdiction of DD/P and developed
four schedules. The three most significant of these schedules covered
records of CS Support Staffs, the 5,000 cubic feet of predecessor
agency records held in DD/P archives, and records of the
The application of Records Control Schedules by Operating Offices
accomplished the transfer of 17,029 cubic feet of records from head-
quarters office space to the Records Center. This was a record volume,
surpassing by 5,686 cubic feet, or 66%, the amount transferred in
1958. This 17,029 cubic feet of records, if retained in headquarters,
would have called for the procurement of more than 2,100 piecesc.of
filing equipment costing over $553,x, and would have required around
17,000 square feet of floor space. Operating Offices also reported the
destruction of 10,252 cubic feet of records in office areas, for an
additional on-the-spot avoidance of cabinet purchases and files
expansion.
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4. Records Center Operations
The 1 02 cubic feet of records transferred to the Center brought
t the total received since the beginning of operations
in 1951. The removal of this volume from headquarters offices has
avoided the purchase of an estimated $2 3/4 million worth of filing
cabinets. This estimate is substantiated by the cost reduction figures
cited under "Program Highlights" on page one of this report,
Records Center holdings at the end of 1959 totalled 53,205 cubic
feet, for a net increase of 12,103 cubic feet over the volume on hand
at the beginning of the year. The net gain of 12,103 cubic feet rather ~~-~
17,029 cubic feet (1959 receipts) resulted from applying Records Con-
trol schedules to the destruction of 4,926 cubic feet of records at
the Center. In thousands of cubic feet, the ratio of receipts to des-
tructions for the past four years has been 1107 to 4, 10,6 to 406, 1103
to 706, and 1700 to 409.
During 1959, 132,459 items were furnished requesters from Center
holdings. This reference workload was an increase of 66% over that
of 1958, and coincidentally paralleled the percentage of increase in
the volume of records received at the Center.
To cope with this increased workload,. and to generally increase
operating efficiency at the Center, steps were taken to: (1) Stream-
line accountability for TS documents, (2) simplify the processing and
handling of Scientific Intelligence and AEC material, (3) provide
service on DD/P records which formerly were available only to PD/P
personnel, (4) speed up the burning of disposable records, arid ( )
reduce priority reference requests to an essential minimum,
5. Vital Materials Program
Further progress was made toward improving the VM :Program and
steamlining operations at the VM Repository'. Typical improvements
included:
a. The revision of VM Deposit Schedules for three offices,
ba Recommendations to the Chairman, DD/77 Vital Materials
Committee, for improving the DD/I Intelligence Collection.
C. Correction of a deficiency in depositing vital materials with 25X1A6a
special and Restricted Data classifications,
d e Transfer of the VM Program from
to the Management Staff, and consolidation of VM operations
with those of the Records Center, thereby eliminating one
position.
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6. Records Management Overseas
25X1A6a
A TDY assignment by a Records Management Staff
analyst furthered the overseas records management program. The major
accomplishments from this assignment were:
a. Acquired invaluable microfilming experience and solved several
problems on developing microfilm.
b. Developed a Station Records Control Schedule which: (1) Es-
tablished precedents for future scheduling of overseas records,
(2) revealed that only one-tenth of one percent of the Station
records deserved permanent retention, (3) disclosed that about
90% of the Station records were duplicated at Headquarters,
and (ii) pointed up conflicts between records management
objectives and current field regulations.
c. Destroyed ten cubic feet of records and determined that another
26 cubic feet could be destroyed upon approval of the Records
Control Schedule by Headquarters.
d. Recommended a redistribution of clerical and secretarial help
to improve work flow and equalize work loads.
e. Proposed that a field position be established for a NE Area
Records Officer. 25X1A6a
7. Program Promotion and Staff Development
In 1959 considerable emphasis was placed. on increasing the
effectiveness of Area Records Officers. Three Records Officer meetings
were held, including a two day conference at,_ In addition, eight
Records. Officers received a total of 2,200 hours of orientation and
on-the-job training, and eight attended the two week American University
Records Management Institute.
Within the Records Management Staff, attention was directed toward
increasing the generalist qualifications of analysts. Thirteen Records
.Center people were given 'a one day orientation on current records
management activities. Two members of the Records Management Staff
attended the Records Management Institute and one completed the four
week American University Archives Administration Institute. Also,
Records Management Staff personnel regularly attended various conferences
and seminars sponsored by local professional societies and institutions
of higher learning.
In 1959, as in past years, the Records Management Program was publi-
cized and promoted regularly through Support Bulletin articles, the
Support Services exhibit, presentation
and frequent contacts with key oper
Chief Records Management Staff
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