[OPLINLIST] email retention policy

[Klettlinger, Katy]

Hi Liz,

Email retention has been a popular topic in records management for local governments in Ohio.  Ideally, emails should not be thought of as a  records series (a set a documents) because email is a delivery method for sending information.  The content of emails are commonly correspondence and the other types of documents you place in them as attachments.  Some institutions still place email as a records series in their retention schedules because the public has the perception that email is a type of record.

Since the content of emails can vary widely, you can set either a retention period based on how long the email will be retained in your system and state that emails of long-term value will be printed out and retained or you can guide the person reviewing your retention schedule to "refer to correspondence" and follow that retention period since the majority of emails are correspondence.  In my past position as a county records manager, I had the emails treated like correspondence on our retention schedule until our IT department created an email vault.  When that happened we retained the emails for 18 months and encouraged county departments to print off select emails that they believed they would be needed beyond that period of time.

Ultimately, your legal counsel should be consulted in regards to your decision because if a snafu ever comes up regarding emails they will who supports you.

I hope this helps!

~Katy

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Katy Klettlinger
Library Consultant
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Columbus, OH 43201
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From: Liz Fultz [mailto:LFultz at wcpl.lib.oh.us]
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 2:29 PM
To: oplinlist at lists.oplin.org
Subject: [OPLINLIST] email retention policy

For those that have a records retention policy, how long do you say you will keep email?  The Ohio Historical Society doesn't have a recommendation specifically for everyday email.

Thanks in advance!

Liz Fultz
Centerville Library Manager
111 W. Spring Valley Rd.
Centerville, OH  45458
937.610.4480
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