Annual Reports
The Records Management Section is a unit within the Archives Division of the Alabama Department of Archives and History whose role entails distilling complex archival theory into clear policies and actionable guidance for government agencies. We perform this work as support staff for the Local Government Records Commission (LGRC) and the State Records Commission (SRC). Under the auspices of these bodies, our primary duties include developing records management policies, composing and updating Records Disposition Authorities (RDAs), transmitting permanent government records to the ADAH collection, sanctioning records destruction activities, operating the State Records Center, providing records management training for state and local government officials, documenting compliance, coordinating the Commissions' agendas, and implementing the Commissions' decisions.
Managing State Records in Alabama
This booklet and abbreviated leaflet introduce state government employees' responsibilities regarding maintaining and disposing of government records, including delineating the sections of the Code of Alabama that apply to government records and their management.
Managing Local Records in Alabama
This booklet introduces local government employees' responsibilities regarding maintaining and disposing of government records, including delineating the sections of the Code of Alabama that apply to government records and their management.
Assessing Alabama's Archives
In 2023, the Alabama State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) decided to evaluate local government records management programs to gain a clearer picture of where the greatest records-related needs exist. These evaluations were called “needs assessments,” and their results will help SHRAB set its future priorities.
The following report highlights the first segment of the SHRAB local government records and needs assessment project. The Board chose to start this multi-year project by focusing on Alabama’s probate offices, due to their high concentration of permanent paper documents. Between June and November 2023, staff with the Alabama Department of Archives and History’s Records Management Section met with fifty probate offices to learn more about the successes and the ongoing challenges faced by offices in managing and preserving their records.
In 1985, the Alabama Historical Records Advisory Board managed Alabama's Assessment Project. As mentioned in the summary, local government records are important because they not only protect our personal, political, and property rights, but also document the history of the state's cities and towns, neighborhoods, families, and individuals. To ensure the preservation of these vital records, the Advisory Board recommended that a concerted statewide effort was needed for the administration, identification, preservation, and use of Alabama's local government historical records - an effort that emphasizes the responsibility of local government officials.