Archives News

Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Ann Richins at SLCC”
December 3, 2024

ARO Spotlight: Ann Richins at SLCC

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
Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Mark Smith, Division of Finance”
October 10, 2024

ARO Spotlight: Mark Smith, Division of Finance

When Mark Smith started two years ago at the Division of Finance (within Utah’s Department of Government Operations), there were 219 record series, most of which hadn’t been updated since their creation nearly forty years ago. Luckily for the Division, Mark is smart, meticulous, and organized, and attacked the series clean-up with a vengeance. As the project nears its end,
Featured image for “Reviving Vital Records”
September 17, 2024

Reviving Vital Records

Birth and death certificates are some of the most popular records requested and used at the Utah State Archives. For the last year, our staff has been working to accelerate providing quality access, especially online, to these valuable records as soon as they become public. In this post, we’ll explore the process from beginning to end. Records Management The Office
Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Anna Crookston – South Jordan City ”
July 15, 2024

ARO Spotlight: Anna Crookston – South Jordan City 

Meet Anna Crookston, the City Recorder for South Jordan. Anna is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the city’s records management program, and has earned a reputation for being innovative, adaptable and not afraid to embrace new technologies. Anna was kind enough to chat with us about the lessons that she has learned in her career, how she faces new challenges,
Featured image for “Privacy Bill FAQ”
June 11, 2024

Privacy Bill FAQ

On March 19, House Bill 491 for the Government Data Privacy Act was signed by the Governor of Utah. The bill provides for the creation of a Utah Privacy Governing Board and the creation of the Office of Data Privacy, which is responsible for assisting state agencies in implementing privacy practices, including compliance with legislation, facilitating data subject rights and individuals’ control of their
Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Debbie Berry from the Division of Water Rights”
May 8, 2024

ARO Spotlight: Debbie Berry from the Division of Water Rights

Records are essential to establishing and managing water rights in Utah, and Debbie Berry has been a critical part of managing records at the Division of Water Rights for the past five years. She is a tenacious researcher when it comes to understanding her Division’s recordkeeping practices and is always on the lookout to resolve questions and establish clear recordkeeping
Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Utah State Board of Education”
February 12, 2024

ARO Spotlight: Utah State Board of Education

Being a records officer for a government agency is a tough job, especially for a large entity like the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). This month, we’re highlighting Ben Rasmussen, USBE’s appointed records officer and Director of Law and Professional Practices, for all the hard work he does. USBE is in the middle of a big project to clean
Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Emily Bejarano from Academica West”
November 9, 2023

ARO Spotlight: Emily Bejarano from Academica West

Emily Bejarano has worked with Utah charter schools for the past twenty years through her job at Academica West. Her role is to train new school secretaries on records management,  student data privacy laws, and best practices. In other words, she’s the one who answers the question “What do I do with all these old boxes of records?” Thanks for
Featured image for “ARO Spotlight: Department of Environmental Quality Records Team”
October 16, 2023

ARO Spotlight: Department of Environmental Quality Records Team

Over the several years that I’ve been a RIM specialist at the State Archives, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many different State departments. The Department of Environmental Quality has consistently reached out to State Archives over the years, and is always just delightful to work with, so I wanted to recognize them for that. Instead of highlighting a
Featured image for “Mastering Accessioning: Unveiling the Art of Organizing Records at the Archives”
August 21, 2023

Mastering Accessioning: Unveiling the Art of Organizing Records at the Archives

The Archives receives records all the time, but what do we do with them after we get them? The first step in receiving records is to document the transfer of legal custody to the State Archives. We do this either by utilizing a transfer form, by which a government entity signs the records over to us, or by a deed