Below are some basic guidelines on how to manage your inbound and outbound email on a daily basis. This flowchart of guidance for managing email may be helpful.
STICK TO BUSINESS
• Use email resources primarily for business purposes.
• Use appropriate and meaningful subject lines to assist the recipient(s) in efficiently
processing the message and any attachments.
• Create folders or labels to file your
messages using easily understood Subject/Topic
terms.
• Consider your email as a Academy resource and do not expect it to be private.
• Limit personal use and segregate personal content from email created/received to
conduct Academy business.
PROTECT ACADEMY RECORDS
• Understand that your email messages, attachments and the associated transmission
metadata may be considered Academy records on the basis of various regulatory,
compliance, or operational requirements.
• Academy records must be retained for defined, approved periods of time based on their
content and purpose.
• Consult with the Director of Archives and Special Collections for guidance on classifying email and to ensure you do not delete official records.
• Protect electronic mail messages, attachments and records from unauthorized release to
third parties.
• Understand that e-mail messages (sent/received) and attachments can be subject to
legal discovery.
• Segregate records received/sent via email in public folders or in subfolders inside the
Inbox or transfer official records to an organized, secure and accessible filing system on
a regular basis.
USE RESOURCES WISELY
• Periodically check your Junk/Spam folders and delete the messages.
• Weed out and delete transitory, personal and outdated/superseded email messages and attachments on a regular basis.
• Delete messages in the Sent folder that do not meet the definition of an Academy record on a regular/periodic basis.
• Make a habit of emptying out the Trash on a regular basis.
• Learn how to use Outlook filters and set rules that can file messages, send alerts, block
unwanted mail, etc.
• Unsubscribe from listservs if you do not have time to read the messages and when you are unable to check your email for an extended period.
Contact the Archivist at x4069 for assistance in setting up appropriate email records storage.