FBI improves recordkeeping processes.

• Position: UPFRONT

After a few big-time bungles that included losing documents related to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing case and mismanaging records about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it has made significant strides in organizing its electronic records.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently recognized the FBI's progress with an Archivist Achievement Award for the bureau's electronic recordkeeping certification program. That program established recordkeeping standards for all the FBI's e-records systems and created protocols for testing those systems.

In keeping with NARAs recommendations, the bureau has formalized communication between records officers and the information technology specialists who build new recordkeeping systems, said Michael Miller, chief of the FBI's Records Automation Section. He said records management officials are represented on the FBI's system design and technical approval boards, and IT Specialists create recordkeeping features when they start developing new systems.

Under the FBI's e-records certification program, systems that handle federal records must be certified and accredited under Defense Department 5015.2-STD, a standard for managing e-records management software.

In addition to the certification...