Index

Information Management

Archives & Record Management

Introduction/Background

Date of last assessment: October 1999

The Information Management functional area received an overall "Excellent” rating in the 1999 Annual Appraisal Performance Report. Archives and Records Management is one facet of Information Management, and individually received a rating of “Outstanding.”

This report is a narrative summary of the effort made towards achieving the performance measures established and agreed to with DOE/OAK for FY 2000, and which are part of the larger IM effort to address customer satisfaction, cost efficiency and contract compliance. A note should be made that the “Performance Measures” for Archives and Records Management, in concurrence with DOE/OAK, cover a two-year period (FY2000 and FY 2001) as the measures were not finalized until July, 2000.

Department Overview

Laboratory Mission

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) is dedicated to experimental and theoretical research in elementary particle physics and in those fields that make use of its synchrotron radiation facilities, including biology, chemistry, geology, material science and electrical engineering. This includes the development of new techniques in particle acceleration and detection, and of synchrotron radiation sources and associated instrumentation. The Center is operated as a national user facility for the Department of Energy by Stanford University.

Organizational Mission

The Information Management functional area at SLAC supports the scientific mission of the Laboratory by providing a full range of services to the organization and all of its employees. We are responsible for Archives and Records Management services to the SLAC community. The Archives area is staffed by a full-time archivist and a part-time assistant archivist; Records Management is a functional area within an administrative support position within Business Services.

Identification of Self-Assessment Report Staff

Names, titles, affiliations of participants

Jean Deken, SLAC Archivist, Research Division

Karen Kruger, Records Manager, Business Services Division

Scope of Self-Assessment

Status of Open Items from 1999 Review

There were no open items from the 1999 review. The Archives and History Office (AHO) and Records Management (RM) continue to work together on keeping each other informed of their respective activities, and often work in tandem to meet customer needs.  

Discussion of Individual Performance Objectives

Performance Objective/Measure

The Information Management area functions as a resource to improve the quality of its services, to add value to scientific programs and customer services, and as a tool to improve work processes. IM services will be made available rapidly and cost effectively and will be made available to the public, industrial partners and stakeholders as appropriate.

Assumptions:   For the purpose of this self-assessment, the IM functional area elements affected by this performance objective/measure are Archives and Records Management. Because many of our functions overlap, we believe it is most efficient and logical to combine the two areas into one self-appraisal.

Process used to meet objective/measure: As stated in the introduction, goals were project-oriented and set for two years, FY00 and FY01, and the FY00 self-assessment is presented as an interim report on the progress made towards revitalizing the Records Liaison program and identifying the record copies of engineering drawing databases.

Findings: 

Productivity Improvement:

In the few months that have elapsed since the FY00-01 goals were established, work has begun on both projects.  A meeting for all current and new Records Liaisons (RLs) is scheduled for mid-November, at which time there will be a general overview of the records and archives program at SLAC for both old and new participants.  Particular attention will be placed on the application of the research and development schedule and the issues surrounding electronic records.  A quick reference brochure is being prepared on the records program, and will also be available on the web.  RLs will be encouraged to bring any records or archives questions or problems for discussion. For the drawing database project, interviews have been held with some custodians of drawing databases and information is being gathered. Additional interviews are scheduled with the Site Engineering and Maintenance Department to examine further the process of entering drawings into the databases and identifying the record copies.

Services that Meet Customer Needs:

As a result of gathering information on the drawing databases, nineteen boxes of microfilm duplicards are ready for transfer to the FRC.  RM continues to be in close touch with the RLs responsible for temporary records to apply schedules and arrange for storage FRC or disposition on site of eligible records. Records Management continued to respond to customers from different departments on a timely basis on issues concerning the transfer to and recall of records with the FRC. Instruction on records issues was provided on a one-to-one basis whenever requested. RM also continues to work closely with the Archives in applying the R&D schedule and meeting with custodians and RLs on the new schedule and process.

The Program Review Committee of the AHO held its second meeting on August 4 and 5, 2000. The Committee concluded, in part, that the AHO has developed “over one year into a significantly more focused program that has a clear sense of direction…”The Committee’s full report is available online at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/ progrev/APRfinal00.htm.

Overall Performance

Customer satisfaction: Archives and History and Records Management continue to work towards meeting the needs of our customers by responding in a timely manner to address any record concerns. A part-time assistant has been added to the staff in Records Management, and part of her time has been devoted to creating and updating all  databases of current record holdings and their dispositions. The Web page has allowed us an additional means of communicating with our customers in the dissemination of information, which we will continue to expand upon as future needs arise. We will continue to add pertinent information and provide direction to the Web page for our records custodians. It is also important to us that we continue to meet personally with our customers to discuss any issues and resolve any record or archives problems on an as needed basis, and use the Web pages as an enhancement, not a replacement, for personal service.

Problem Analysis

Root-Cause Analysis

The major barrier to further progress in addressing our goals is the lack of resources, both financial and manpower, to conduct our activities as efficiently and time effectively as we would like.  The part-time staffing addition in RM has been very helpful in addressing some of the workload. By working on the revitalization of the RL program at SLAC, we hope to provide sufficient and relevant information that will allow the RLs to become more familiar with the various schedules, and allow them to apply them independently and then check with RM for concurrence.

Barrier(s) to Improvement

Outside of resource constraints, there are no major barriers.

Improvement Action Plan/Goals

Goals for FY2001