Commission hears update on county records preservation work; policy and schedule pending

At its Sept. 8 meeting the Mariposa County Historic Sites and Records Preservation Commission discussed progress on a countywide records preservation policy and records schedule that will guide historic-records work across departments.

A participant said the records preservation stakeholder group has not met recently but that Felina (a stakeholder coordinator) plans to schedule another meeting. Paulina told commissioners that the county clerk is preparing a records preservation policy and schedule and that the commission's historic-records database or template is on hold pending completion of those county standards.

Commission participants emphasized that the records preservation schedule is a requirement from the state and that having an adopted county schedule will establish consistent standards for departments to follow when managing historic records. "It's a requirement from the state," one participant said.

Commissioners discussed the complexity of assembling the schedule because it must cover records handled by multiple departments and allow for stakeholder input. Participants noted Sonoma County's archives as an example of a combined approach that manages both business records and historic artifacts.

Next steps: the stakeholder group will reconvene, the county clerk will continue finalizing the records preservation schedule, and the commission requested the finished document be presented to the commission — potentially as a professional-development item — once it is ready.