Records Management

Mission Statement

It is the mission of the Records Management/Imaging Department to ensure sound records management principles in the creation, receipt, storage, retention, disposition and preservation of records. We provide assistance with State regulatory requirements to promote transparency and strive to maintain a systematic plan in managing Mohave County's records for ready access and historical preservation.

Vision Statement

To have overall management of data throughout its lifecycle, regardless of the format

Overview

• Consulting and advising on all records matters.
• Liaison with the AZ State Records Management and Archives Divisions.
• Approvals for Imaging Requests, Destruction Reporting and compliancy with statutory requirements.
• Assisting County departments with scanning, classifying, indexing and creating electronic records.
• Full micrographics lab, converting electronic images to microfilm, processing and duplicating microfilm.
• Warehousing records and overall preservation of records as responsible custodians.
• Providing standards and best practices to alleviate risks.

• Create accurate records needed to do the business of the agency, record decisions and actions taken, and document activities for which they are responsible for. Protecting interests and assuring government accountability is paramount.
• Care for records so that the information can be found when needed. Creating directories and files, in standardized formats, regularly and carefully in a manner that allows for findability and efficient retrieval when requested.
• Protect, secure and preserve the records in your custody according to Arizona State statutes and the Arizona Library, Archive and Public Records standards. Preservation and continued accessibility for current and future generations is the goal.
• Carry out and report disposition/destruction of records under their control in accordance with current Arizona State retention schedules and properly shred all content due for disposal to minimize risk.

To assist, the State Records Management Division has created a FAQ page that can answer some basic questions that arise. Remember, if you do not know...ask. For those employees that have a higher responsibility regarding records and their care, we advise you contact Records Management for further training about AZ State standards, compliancy and best practices.

Records are created to assist and support an agency with fulfilling its mission to provide a public service. Every organization must address well defined objectives that add value, either by achieving the organizations goals, or by reducing costs and/or compliancy requirements. Records contain information and are a valuable resource, it is essential to take a systematic approach to the management of records. Records Management practices contribute to an organization by:

• Creates and manages information needed for decision making and operations readily available.
• Assists to deliver services in a consistent and equitable manner.
• Aids to effective performance of activities throughout the organization.
• Protects the rights of the agency, its employees and it customers.
• Smart data retention practices can greatly reduce data privacy risks.
• Provides continuity in a disaster.
• Protects records from inappropriate and unauthorized access.
• Meets statutory and regulatory requirements including archival, audit and oversight activities.
• Provides protection and support in litigation.
• Allows faster retrieval of documents and information from files in a standardized format.
• Supports and documents historical events for researchers.
• Frees up office space for other purposes by moving inactive records to offsite storage facilities, or deleting electronic files to clear up ROT (redundant, obsolete or trivial data) for an efficient use of server space.