Mission Statement

The State Historical Records Advisory Board shall advocate for and lead efforts to identify, preserve, and provide access to the Commonwealth’s public and private historical records.

Accessibility

Promote the broadest possible access to all records, regardless of format, consistent with public interest, right to access, and privacy protection law.

• Promote adherence to established cataloging, arrangement, and description standards for public records and encourage participation by private repositories.
• Encourage positive customer service attitudes and practices that promote access to records.
• Encourage and support the removal of any limitations to access to historical records, including the removal of physical access barriers as per the Americans with Disabilities Act), consistent with professional standards for privacy.
• Encourage professional communications and cooperation through systems and database development and consistency in inventory controls among public and private repositories of historical records.
• Encourage repositories to broaden remote access to collections via remote digitization, access to digital collections and other off-site research assistance.
• Promote understanding of the importance of historical records via a broad outreach program for secondary and postsecondary educational institutions and the broader public.
• Encourage inclusive continuing education opportunities statewide for current and prospective employees at public and private repositories.

Preservation

Encourage the identification, preservation, maintenance, arrangement, and description of public and private records collections in the Commonwealth

• Encourage the preservation and management of private records, especially those records for which there is no centralized repository (such as business records).
• Promote the development of and support for funding initiatives for public and private repositories.
• Encourage development of disaster plans for public and private records and for repositories and promote their dissemination statewide.
• Identify and publicize funding and other resources to assist with preservation and disaster planning work for public and private repositories.
• Encourage preservation awareness and accepted practices within the professional community.
• Educate public and archival practitioners in how to identify records of permanent historical value and in basic preservation skills through publications, videos, workshops, and other outreach activities.

Records Management

Promote and support statewide policy and management practices that ensure accurate classification of records, including those created in or migrated to electronic or other formats, to identify nonpermanent records for appropriate retention and disposition, as well to identify records for permanent preservation

• Encourage compliance with Public Records Act, Code of Virginia 42.1-76, which is the basis for the statewide records management program.
• Promote the identification and maintenance of public records of permanent historical value through the administration of a sound statewide records management program by The Library of Virginia.
• Encourage the incorporation of electronic records-keeping into records management functions.
• Promote educational opportunities in the care and keeping of records, including those in electronic or other nontraditional formats.
• Provide leadership in cooperation with The Library of Virginia in encouraging adherence to archival and records-management principles and creating opportunity for statewide sharing of information through regular meetings and workshops organized through statewide associations that encourage a greater knowledge and understanding of the concerns of various and different types of archives and repositories.

Contact:

Chad Owen, Records Management Coordinator
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219-8000
804-692-3807
chad.owen@lva.virginia.gov