Meet Ann Richins, a dedicated professional with over nine years of service at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). After spending seven and a half years as the assistant director of the library, she transitioned to the Risk Management Department, where she took on the role of Approved Records Officer (ARO) in November 2022. For this spotlight, Ann shared shared her experiences, challenges, and advice in her role, offering a fascinating look into the world of records management.

Tell us about your job and the records you manage?

I love my job! I’m responsible for the workers’ compensation claims, assist with contract management, oversee the records management program for SLCC, handle GRAMA requests, and assist with insurance and general risk management questions. It seems like no two days are the same when it comes to what I am working on. I like the variety and getting the opportunity to work on projects. I’m primarily responsible for the workers’ compensation records in terms of management. I recently updated the format as some of the copies were handwritten on carbon copy paper and starting to fade. I also assist all the college departments with managing their records. I think my time as a librarian really helped prepare me for my current role. My reference experience comes in handy when answering questions and my collection management skills are applicable to records management. My joke is, who better to help organize and manage content/records than a former librarian.

What has been your biggest records management project?

The biggest project would be getting a college records management policy written and approved and rolling out the current records management program. It’s taken close to 1.5 years to get things in place, but we’re finally there. The college has six main divisions and dozens of departments within those divisions spread across multiple locations in Salt Lake County, so getting training out has been a very big undertaking. It can be tough training sometimes because records management is a big concept to wrap your mind around.  I do my best to make records management approachable and doable for employees since, for some, it could be the first they are hearing about it. I do lots of follow-ups with trained employees to ensure they are working on records management and provide additional support to them as needed.  

What is your favorite part of your job?

Probably records management and GRAMA requests, because they allow me to utilize my strengths and they tend to be interesting. I also enjoy seeing both sides of the records coin—the management side and the access side. It’s fascinating to get a glimpse at the history of the institution through the documents and records that are uncovered as more departments actively engage in the records management process. On the flip side, GRAMA requests can be challenging, but I like to connect people with the information/records they are looking for (if they exist and are releasable) and records management allows me to do that.

Do you have any advice for other AROs?

Be innovative and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I was fortunate that it took a little bit of time to get things in place for the records management program. It allowed me to experiment with different techniques for managing records to develop some recommended best practices specific for my institution. I also reached out to different departments to find out what their concerns with records management were, so we could develop a process that worked for them. If I didn’t know the answer to something or needed additional help, I reached out to my RIM specialist, too.