Gubernatorial records comprise an important body of
knowledge documenting policy development in state government. They inform
legal decisions and the collective history of the states and nation.
The latest edition of the Council of State Archivists' manual
on governors records was published in November 2010 by the National Governors
Association. This updates the 2006 edition.
NEW!
Managing Gubernatorial
Records: A Guide for Governors (2010)
Download the guide (PDF, 737 KB)
The purpose of the Guide is to help governors and
their staff members to make informed decisions about managing their
records for the benefit of all state citizens.
Some of the topics covered in the Guide include the
distinctions between “official records” and “personal
papers,” handling transition office and campaign records, and
the dangers of mishandling records. The 2010 edition contains additional guidance on electronic and other machine-readable records, including email, websites, and social media. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers worked with CoSA to refine the text.
Governors’ Offices, like all
public offices, are under increased public scrutiny, and sound records
management policies not only reduce risk but increase efficiency, thereby
saving public resources.
At the its annual meeting in 2003, CoSA discussed
governors records (see summary
of discussion) and decided to form a task force to revise and update
a manual on governors records that was originally prepared by the National
Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators and published
by the National Governors Association in 1989. This new manual is the
result.
Other useful documents re: records of governors and
other government officials include:
Charles Schultz,"Gubernatorial
Records: Status, Access, and Content." Paper delivered at
Society of American Archivists' 2002 Annual Meeting. MS
Word version (350KB). PDF
version (578KB). The most definitive study, to date, on the management
and disposition of gubernatorial records.
"State
Archives' Holdings of Governors' Public Records and Private Papers (status
in 1996)," Table 15 in Maintaining
State Records in an Era of Change: A National Challenge. Council
of State Historical Records Coordinators, 1996.
National Archives and
Records Administration."Documenting
Your Public Service," described as a guide for high-level
government officials to help them distinguish federal records from other
documentary materials, including personal files (although it specifically
excludes from consideration records created under the Presidential Records
Act).
Policy
Statement Regarding the Preservation and Disposition of the Official
Records of Governors, issued by the National Association of State
Archives and Records Administrators (NASARA). 1981.
