Social media presence tests agency records management

The federal government's ever-growing social media presence is presenting new challenges for agencies, such as a lack of standards for records management. Those challenges cannot be met at the agency level alone, according to a new report, so it is time for the federal government to lead a move toward uniformity.

"New media brings with it new challenges -- especially for records managers struggling to apply existing records management laws and regulations . . . in a social media world," author Patricia C. Franks, associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University in California, said in the report. "These new challenges cannot be met at the agency level alone. It is time for the federal government to dramatically transform records management."

Nearly every agency has some social media presence. As of June, 22 of 24 major agencies were actively maintaining a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, according to the

report, published by IBM's Center for the Business of Government.

The report concluded that records management authority and responsibility are fragmented and ineffective. "Federal agencies must look to several sources for records management guidance, including [the National Archives and Record Administration], [and] agencies [that] set information policy like the [Office of Management and Budget] and [General Services Administration]," the report said. "Gathering information from disparate sources and incorporating them into a coherent records management program is further complicated by numerous directives being released in relation to the Open Government Initiative and the use of social media."

There is also a lack of standards across the federal government in records management, the report said. While NARA provides the "what" and "why," the agencies provide the "how" for their individual programs, resulting "in a patchwork of individual agency policies that lack a standard, principles-based foundation. . . . Therefore, there is no basis upon which continuous improvement can be established, or measured."

The problem also extends to funding. "NARA does not have a research-and-development budget to develop adequate solutions, or expertise to help agencies meet electronic records management challenges," the report said.

Another challenge arises within the agency actually responsible for records management and its Web 2.0 shift. Although NARA is charged with guiding federal records management, "it is itself currently occupied with learning to use [Web 2.0] tools and discovering what they mean for records management, both within NARA and across federal agencies," the report said. "There is therefore a disconnect between social media and website development teams' role in establishing agency social media presences . . . and NARA's position in providing guidance after social media initiatives have already been implemented in many federal agencies." NARA did not return a call seeking comment.

Among the recommendations for addressing these new challenges are establishing a federal chief records officer to elevate the status of records management across the government. The new CRO, the report says, should convene a working group with representatives from agencies and the private sector to rethink the definition of records and the concept of records management in the Web 2.0 world.

Information technology officers also should integrate records management solutions and undertake research initiatives for preservation of digital objects, the report said. Similarly, more training is required and "should be developed or incorporated into existing training programs immediately."