The US National Archives and Records Administration issued guidance on using email archiving applications for storing email. So why are these obscure government bulletins important? If you are a government agency, the answer is obvious–you’re under a lot more mandates and “guidelines” than the private sector, and these bulletins will help guide your purchasing decisions as well as how you use the archiving solutions once you’ve bought them. But these guidelines tend to eventually spill out onto the private sector as well. Just because you’re not bound by them, doesn’t mean that they don’t give good advice.

An email is no longer an informal communique. We can no longer see it as the virtual equivalent or a Post-It note. Although often, not much thought goes into writing an email, once it has been sent, it is still nonetheless part of your agency’s or your company’s “official” historical records. And as a type of record, the Federal government has very specific requirements for its maintenance. Increasingly, private companies also have similar requirements, either by legislative mandate or by internal policy. So, that email you send out about the office party next week is going to be around for a long time, so word it well.

The bulletin lays out specific requirements for managing email messages as Federal records, specifically:

• Provide for grouping of records into classifications
• Provide for easy and timely retrieval
• Retain records in a usable format
• Be accessible by those who have a need for the information
• Preserve transmission and receipt data
• Permit transfer of permanent records to the NARA

Outside of last requirement, these are all valid for private industry as well. The bulletin also points out recordkeeping issues associated with archiving applications, which should guide purchasing decisions, pointing out that many email archiving applications “may not be capable of grouping related records in accordance with recordkeeping requirements.” That’s government-speak for “make sure you can find the email you’re looking for after you archive them.” Good search capabilities are essential for an email archiving solution, and advanced email search capabilities are essential.