Records Management

Grants and growth: The infrastructure funding surge demands masterful management

COMMENTARY | To leverage federal funds to strengthen their economies and invest in the future, state and local governments need strong, centralized grant management support.

  • By Rob Cohan

There’s one year left to turn the corner on evictions

COMMENTARY | By taking advantage of ARPA funds, local leaders can better utilize eviction data to keep more people in their homes.

  • By Yuliya Panfil and Karen A. Lash

Expungement backlogs swamp courts

Thousands of new expungement applications are causing months-long backlogs in jurisdictions with manual and paper-based processing. Automation can help.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Access to public records is 'deteriorating terribly'

In a time when trust in state and local government is under siege, public access to information is particularly vital.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

Why Blockchain Is a Key Technology for State and Local Governments

COMMENTARY | Blockchains are a promising solution for securing data in health care, finance, voting and other public applications.

  • By Yu Chen, The Conversation

County looks to blockchain for records management

Riverside County, California, wants to convert paper-centric services to trusted, secure and private electronic operations with an interagency blockchain platform that would be open to other counties.

  • By Susan Miller

States Have the Resources to Clear Criminal Records

COMMENTARY | Most governments already have the capacity and technology to deliver automatic record clearance to all those eligible for relief equitably, expeditiously and at scale.

  • By Jay Jordan and Alia Toran-Burrell

How Records of Life’s Milestones Help Solve Cold Cases, Pinpoint Health Risks and Allocate Public Resources

Agencies should adopt a centralized approach to managing vital records such as marriage licenses and birth certificates to better track population data.

  • By Paula Fomby, The Conversation

Digitized ID Eases Re-entry for Formerly Incarcerated

To streamline the re-entry process for released inmates, the Maryland Re-Entry Passport program launched an online portal that stores digitized copies of personal documents.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Machine Learning Digs Into States’ Archives

Amid growing backlogs of archival data, states are turning to software tools to streamline records management.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

6 ways technology can streamline public records requests

Agencies are relying on technology to simplify and streamline their public records request process and, as a second-order effect, increase constituents’ confidence in their governing bodies.

  • By Adnan A. Olia

Mayor Snagged in WhatsApp Debate

Use of the encrypted messaging app by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration rekindles discussion over apps that allow officials to skirt the spirit, if not the letter, of open records laws.

  • By Shourjya Mookerjee
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Mayor snagged in WhatsApp debate

Use of the encrypted messaging app by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s administration rekindles discussion over apps that allow officials to skirt the spirit, if not the letter, of open-records laws.

  • By Shourjya Mookerjee

143,518 U.S. Public Library Workers Are Keeping their Communities Informed, Connected and Engaged – But Their Jobs May be at Risk

COMMENTARY | While newer data isn’t available, the number is probably lower now, and recent history suggests more library jobs may be on the chopping block in the near future.

  • By Christine D'Arpa, Rachel D. Williams and Noah Lenstra, The Conversation

Government Agencies Interest in Digitizing Paper Records Grows

Paper records account for more than half of the records kept by 52% of government agencies that responded to a recent survey.

  • By Andrea Noble

A State Agency Scraps Its Paper-Based Licensing System

In adopting a digital licensing system, officials at the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission say they moved away not just from stacks and stacks of paper, but also an old mindset.

  • By Andrea Noble

Philly Mayor Deleted Years of Text Messages

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | W.Va. teachers strike … Alaska cold case leads to arrest in Maine using genetic genealogy … and the Cincinnati City Council’s attendance record.

  • By Michael Grass

Digital Record Deluge Threatens to Swamp States

States allocate less than one-hundredth of one percent of their budget on archives despite exponential data growth.

  • By Mitch Herckis

The Difficult Balance of Transparency and Privacy for Local Governments

“Risk will never be zero so it has to be actively managed,” according to Jason Lally, data services manager for the city and county of San Francisco.

  • By Michael Grass

How Form Automation Is Democratizing Government Services

Technology can help make services accessible to vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens.

  • By Jonathon Ende , Special to Route Fifty

What Do State Chief Data Officers Do?

A look at the job that puts analytics to use in decision-making.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts