Transcript Email Management Workshop A product of the Managing the Digital University Desktop Project http://www.ils.unc.edu/digitaldesktop/ Are email messages records? • At UNC, all email messages are considered public.

Email Management
Workshop
A product of the
Managing the Digital University
Desktop Project
http://www.ils.unc.edu/digitaldesktop/
Are email messages records?
• At UNC, all email messages are considered
public records, except personal email
• (NCGS 132-1: All documentary material,
regardless of format, made or received in
connection with university business)
• At Duke, all email messages are considered
university records, except personal email
When is an email a record?
Messages with continuing value:
• approve or authorize actions or expenditures;
• are formal communications between staff, such as
correspondence or memoranda relating to official business;
• signify a policy change or development;
• create a precedent, such as messages issuing instructions or
advice;
• relate to the substantive business of the work unit or University;
• involve negotiations on behalf of the University;
• have value for other people or the work unit as a whole.
What to do with emails
that are records
• Do they have continuing value? Retain in paper or
electronic format until no longer administratively useful, then
either destroy or transfer to University Archives according to
records schedule.
• Would they pose a risk to the University if they
could not be accessed? Do not delete unless retained in
acceptable paper format.
For records management info, at UNC-CH call 962-6402 or
email [email protected]. At Duke call 684-6181.
Print?
• Send to Archives according to your office’s
records retention schedules. Keep along with
other records in a specific records series.
Electronic?
• Maintain in a format in which you can potentially
transfer to the Archives when appropriate
University policies have been established.
Native file formats accessible only as long as
email application supported. Open format
increases chances of access in the future.
When in doubt, print it out!
What about emails that are
not records?
Delete and purge messages with short-term
value, such as:
• News bulletins, circulars, meeting notices,
copies of documents, drafts
• Those created solely as part of preparation
for other records
• Personal messages and announcements not
work related
• Junk mail
Dealing with Spam
• Delete spam or junk mail as quickly as
possible
• University has spam filters
• Contact information technology staff in
your department for information on how
to set spam filters
Tips for thwarting viruses:
• Don’t open an email attachment from someone you don’t
know.
• If you are unsure of an attachment, call your Systems
staff – they can try to determine if it’s legitimate.
• Banks, credit card companies, and financial businesses
will NEVER ask for personal information in an email.
Don’t be fooled by official-looking email.
• Don’t be fooled by official-looking messages from
University departments, particularly ITS Messaging
Services, which threaten to suspend your account(s).
•
Don’t click on that ‘unsubscribe’ link in a spam email
message – it only tells the spammer you’re still there.
Email is managed by
its content, not its format.
Handout: Keep or delete?
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Subject: Can you meet me for lunch?
Subject: Memo re new travel policy
Subject: Curriculum Committee meeting minutes
Subject: New policy on vacation leave
Subject: Listserv messages 7/10/05
Subject: Instructions for filling out travel form
Subject: Pick up some bread for supper?
Subject: Sorry I missed class this week
Subject: Information for annual report
Subject: Negotiations with a records storage
company
Why do you need to keep
certain emails?
• Document day-to-day office operations
• Preserve the history of your department
• Document business decisions and
discussions
• Provide access during official actions or
litigation
Why do you need to delete
certain emails?
• Ensure privacy and security by maintaining in
one place
• If committee records, primary keeper is
committee chair
• Certain emails can increase risk for the
University if kept longer than required
• Help conserve University resources by using
less server space
What email should you keep?
• Does it have continuing or permanent value?
If yes, keep and maintain according to records retention
schedule. If no, delete and purge once its value ends.
• Who else received this message?
Only primary keeper is responsible for maintaining record
copy.
• Is it a work in progress (draft)?
In most cases, final version is sufficient for long-term
retention.
What email should you delete?
• Personal messages - Minimal and retained only as long
as necessary
• Messages with short-term value - Delete and purge
once their purpose has concluded. Includes: messages re:
scheduling of meetings, day to day office communications,
drafts, class emails that may be important for the semester,
but unnecessary once the semester ends
• Messages distributed to a number of staff for
information only – Includes: news bulletins, listserv
messages, “informational” emails
What to do with attachments?
If email and attachment have continuing
value:
• Save the email and attachment together in
original format within the context of your email
software on the email server
• Save the attachment in another location (hard
drive or network space)
• Print the email and attachment and save them
in paper format
Where should you store email?
• University email server (Advantages – accessed
from multiple locations through webmail, more
secure, backed up regularly. Disadvantages – may
run out of allotted space)
• Local machine (Advantages – avoid filling up
allotted server space. Disadvantages – may not be
backed up regularly, not available through webmail)
• Disks or cds (Advantages – good for inactive or
infrequently accessed messages. Disadvantages –
messages more difficult to locate, media may
degrade or become obsolete)
A word about formats
• Print – Can be sent to Archives according to records
retention schedule. Print out important emails and
keep along with other records in a specific records
series.
• Electronic – Must be maintained in a format in which
you can potentially transfer to Archives when
appropriate University policies have been established.
If saved in native file formats, accessible only as long
as email application supported. If saved in open
format, such as ASCII text, better chance for
access/preservation in future, but lose original
formatting.
A word about printing
Print version must include:
• Addresses – not names of distribution lists – of
specific recipients (the “To:”)
• Including addresses in “cc:” and “bcc:” fields
• Addresses of the sender (the “From:”)
• The subject line
• The body of the email message
• All attachments
• The date and time the message was sent and/or
received
For directions on how to turn on full header info, consult your
IT staff.
Questions?
How should you organize
your email?
1) No filing strategy: Creating no folders, keeping all
emails in inbox
Advantages:
Requires little effort, email owner can locate certain messages
by using search engine or remembering when specific email
received. Threading feature can also be used, if available.
Disadvantages:
Over time, more difficult to recall when certain emails received,
more difficult to retrieve w/out subject folders. May be difficult
for your successor, colleagues, or an archivist to make sense
of emails in the future. May keep more emails than you need
to.
Organizing email (cont.)
2) Filing system: Simple filing scheme based on
topical areas. Can incorporate your office’s
records retention and disposition schedule.
Advantages:
Provides complete view of all emails on a particular topic,
provides context for a set of messages, allows for quick
retrieval, allows others to make sense of your emails,
reduces clutter in inbox
Disadvantages:
Takes time and discipline to maintain
Organizing email (cont.)
3) Combination of filing system and usage of
inbox
• Delete emails you don’t need to keep on a daily basis
• File emails you know you want to keep and don’t have
to follow up on
• Emails left in your inbox should be emails you need to
act upon or on which you need resolution
Email Folder Structures
• Geographic area or location – Example: Travel
Reports - England
• Numbers or symbols – Example: NSF-001
• Dates – Example: March 2004
• Subjects – Example: Budgets, Courses/Elem
Chinese
• Sender – Example: John Smith
• Records series – Example: Annual Reports
Handout: Filing Practice
Folder Names
Email Subjects
Exams Spring 2005
Memo from Dean Lewis
Annual Reports 2000-2005
LIS 690 Exam
NSF Grants
Travel form, Toronto trip
Travel reports – Canada
NSF_1234.567c2
Correspondence with Dean
Annual report attached
Access and Security
Policies concerning email privacy
Duke: http://www.oit.duke.edu/oit/policy/ITACPolicy.html
UNC: http://help.unc.edu/?id=1677
Emails that mix business and personal messages are
considered public records!
Who can view your email?
Who “owns” your email?
Confidentiality Issues
Policies? Safeguards?
Never send Social Security or credit card
numbers in an email!
Faculty/student communications
At Duke:
http://www.registrar.duke/registrar/studentpages/student/f
erpa.htm
At UNC:
http://regweb.oit.unc.edu/resources/index.php
Top 10 Tips for Email Use
10. Be careful when opening email from an unknown
sender. The message could be spam or could contain a
virus.
9. Use subject lines that are indicative of the content of your
message and that the person who receives the email can
use to retrieve it.
8. Use university-sponsored email systems sparingly to
send or receive personal email. Use discretion when
mixing personal and work-related messages.
Top 10 Tips (cont.)
7. Take time to compose a thoughtful response before
sending an email. Proofread your email for spelling
errors, grammar, and punctuation before sending it.
6. When sensitive issues need to be discussed, face-toface conversation or a telephone call may be a better
communication choice than email. Remember that
the security of your email cannot be ensured.
5. Do not put anything in an email message that you
would not want to see printed in tomorrow’s
newspaper or displayed on a bulletin board.
Top 10 Tips (cont.)
4. Manage email based on its content, not space quotas. Retain
and dispose of email messages according to established
records retention guidelines.
3. Everyone receives email that may pose personal or
institutional risks. These emails should be removed from the
email system as soon as possible and according to law.
2. For most people, much of the email that they receive is not
too important, but everyone receives a small percentage that
is. You should take special care with these important emails
to make sure that they are secure, retrievable, and preserved
over time.
Top 10 Tips (cont.)
1. Email does not manage itself. Be a proactive
manager of your inbox and manage your
messages in a way that is most effective for
you. This may involve filing significant
messages or a combination of filing in folders
and using the inbox to store messages.
A Final Thought
“Making duplicate copies and computer
printouts of things no one wanted even
one of in the first place is giving America a
new sense of purpose.”
-- Andy Rooney
Questions?
For more information:
http://www.ils.unc.edu/digitaldesktop/