Applying Records Management Principles to Managing Public Government Social Media Records

Abstract

The use of public social media tools by federal, state, and local government agencies has evolved from novelty to commonplace. Citizens, comfortable using social media in their personal lives, expect to be able to interact with government officials in a similar manner. Government agencies, eager to be viewed as open and transparent, embrace the ease with which they can use social media to share information with the public. Public administrators and IT professionals at all levels of government use these technologies to deliver services, communicate information, respond to emergencies, and facilitate interactions between the government and the community. The Federal Government Social Media Wiki lists 123 government entities, and all but one employ at least one official public social media tool (GovSM, 2014). The one entity, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), does have a presence in social media, however, through the Department of Labor’s Twitter account. A 2012 study conducted by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (representing state chief information officers and information technology executives and managers from U.S. state governments) revealed that 100% of respondents reported that their states use social media in some manner. A study conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) revealed that 84% of responding local governments maintain a social media presence (NASCIO, 2013, p. 1). The Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3301) defines federal records as any material that is recorded, made, or received in the course of federal business, regardless of its form or characteristics, and is worthy of preservation (NARA, 2013). State and local governments employ similar definitions when identifying records for which they are responsible. Some social media content is likely to meet the definition of a record in use by the government entity and must be managed according to applicable laws, regulations and agency policies. “The backbone of a transparent and accountable government is good records management. To put it simply, the Government cannot be accountable if it does not preserve-and cannot find-its records” (NARA, 2014, 29). Those responsible for records management face numerous challenges, including identifying social media records, capturing records in a manner that ensures authenticity, disposing of records that no longer have value, and ensuring access by preserving records of value and making them available to the public.