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The Information Management functional area received an overall "Excellent" rating in the 2002 Annual Appraisal Performance Report. Archives and Records Management is one facet of Information Management, and individually received a rating of "Excellent."
This report is a narrative summary of the effort made towards achieving the performance measures established and agreed to with DOE/OAK for FY 2002-2003, and are part of the larger IM effort to address customer satisfaction, cost efficiency and contract compliance.
The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is the lead Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory for electron-based high energy physics. It is dedicated to research in elementary particle physics, accelerator physics and in allied fields that can make use of its synchrotron radiation facilities—including biology, chemistry, geology, materials science and environmental engineering. Operated on behalf of the DOE by Stanford University, SLAC is a national user facility serving universities, industry and other research institutions throughout the world. Its mission can be summarized as follows:
Perform world-class research in high energy physics, particle astrophysics and cosmology, and in the use of synchrotron radiation
Provide accelerators, detectors, instrumentation and support for national and international research programs in elementary particle physics and allied fields that use synchrotron radiation
Advance the art of accelerators and related devices through development of sources of high energy particles and synchrotron radiation, plus new techniques for their scientific utilization
Advance the critical technologies necessary to maintain its leadership and excellence in particle physics, accelerator physics, particle astrophysics and cosmology, and synchrotron radiation
Transfer practical knowledge and innovative technology to the private sector
Contribute to the education of the next generation of scientists and engineers, and to the scientific awareness of the public
Achieve and maintain excellence in matters of environmental concern and provide for the safety and health of its staff and the general public.
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 part-time assistant archivist; Records Management is a functional area within an administrative support position within Business Services.
Names, titles, affiliations of participants
Jean Deken, SLAC Archivist, Research Division
Karen Kruger, Records Manager, Business Services Division
Status of Open Items from 2002 Review
No specific performance items remain open from the previous year, as Archives and History and Records Management usually alternate years for establishing performance measures. As in past years, the Archives and History Office and Records Management continue to keep each other informed of their respective activities, and continue to work in tandem to meet customer needs.
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: The objective established for FY03 was to create a Records Management website that addressed the issues specifically related to "temporary" administrative records that are usually processed by Records Management. Topics covered in the website would include appraisal and identification of temporary records, application of approved schedules, transfer of records to Federal storage, and retrieval and disposition procedures. The website would link to and complement the Archives and History website. This self-assessment will present progress made during FY03 on this objective.
Website Development:
The goal for Records Management was to develop a website that would provide SLAC’s Records Administrators an easy reference to explain the policies and procedures for managing the temporary, non-archival records in their work areas. The Archives and History Office has an excellent website that covers some of the same areas, but we saw a need for further published information on some of the specific policies and procedures on the storage and disposition of temporary records.
The Records Management website is in the final approval stage. This website will be available to the SLAC community before the end of October, 2003. The website will contain complete information on identifying temporary and archival records, records terminology, links to all the approved records schedules, and the procedures for transferring and retrieving records at the Federal Records Center.
The website is linked, and refers to, the Archives and History Office website to provide additional assistance in appraising and applying the correct disposition schedules to the records created throughout SLAC. The website will give Records Management added visibility to the SLAC community and will provide records information in a readily available format.
Overall Performance
Customer satisfaction: The Archives and History Office and Records Management have worked both together and independently throughout the year to address any records questions presented by the SLAC community in a timely manner. We continue to make department or office visits as requested to solve record issues as they are presented. The Archives and History Office’s accomplishments for FY 03 include compiling and editing SLAC's 40th Anniversary photo book, planning for the 40th Anniversary celebration and supporting its keynote speakers with historical and photographic research, and adding 650+ web-accessible thumbnail images to the SLAC PhotoIndex database.
Feedback from the SLAC community has been universally positive in this area. The positive response to these efforts was further exemplified by the SLAC Archivist receiving the coveted "2003 Employee Recognition Award". We rate our performance in these two areas as "Outstanding" for FY 2003.
Root-Cause Analysis
The major barriers continue to be financial and manpower issues. Records Management was able to achieve this high level of performance in spite of the fact that this area has had a temporary assistant for much of the year. A permanent replacement will be selected during the early weeks of FY 2004. With the completion of the Records Management website, and in conjunction with the Archives and History Office website, Archives and History and Records Management strive to provide easily-accessible information to address the demanding records needs of the SLAC community.
Barrier(s) to Improvement
Outside of ongoing resource restraints, there are no major barriers.
Goals for FY2004