Archives News

The Utah State Archives is thrilled to welcome our new Government Records Ombudsman, Monica Minaya! Monica comes to us with a wealth of GRAMA (Government Records Access and Management Act) experience having served as the GRAMA response coordinator for both Unified Police and the Herriman Police Department. Let’s get to know her! Welcome, Monica! What are you expecting in your

Government records are the property of the state (Utah Code 63A-12-105(1)). The public has a right to open and fair access to records that are classified as public. At the Utah Division of Archives and Records Service, we take transparency very seriously. Our Open Government team maintains two important websites for the state of Utah: the Utah Public Notice Website,

If you ask for a record from a government agency and they deny access or deny your reasonable request for a fee waiver, what options do you have? If you have requested a record from an agency and your request was denied, there is an appeals process, which is laid out in Part 4 of the Government Records Access and

This is the final post in our series celebrating our 50th anniversary as a distinct division in Utah government. While previous entries have explored the early years (and people) of the Utah State Archives and Records Service, today’s post will attempt to look ahead and project what the Utah State Archives and Records Service of 2069 might look like. Obviously

Did you miss our Sunshine Conference on March 13, 2018? Was there a session that you would really like to share with your co-workers? The materials and recordings from our Sunshine Conference are now available on the State Archives’ website. You can also access the videos from our YouTube channel. We hope that you will find these materials useful.  

Welcome to the inaugural Open Government Conference! Tuesday, March 13, 2018 9 a.m. – 4 p.m The Utah Division of Archives and Records Service is excited to announce “A Day of Sunshine.”  Come and learn why transparency matters and how to work together for a better open government. Our guest speakers include: John Dougall, State Auditor Joel Campbell, Associate Professor

  Come and learn about government transparency from the following speakers.                                    John Dougall, State Auditor | Why Government Transparency is Important Joel Campbell, Assoc. Professor of Journalism (BYU) | Adopting “Sunshine” Standards Charles Stormont, attorney for UTA | Privacy from a Legal Perspective

Winters v. West Jordan City and Utah State Records Committee, Case No. 17096014, Third District Court. In August 2017, the State Records Committee heard Winters v. West Jordan City Police Department, a case regarding body camera and surveillance footage that captured and identified juveniles in a public space.  The Appellant argued that the video is a public record and should

Electronic Records Day (10/10/2017) is designed to raise awareness among state government agencies, the general public, related professional organizations, and other stakeholders about the crucial role electronic records play in their world. As of 2014, there are at least 1 billion different websites on the Internet.1 What would happen if all that information were lost? Even without a large disaster,

Endangered Data A healthy democracy relies on an active and informed citizenry, which in turn depends on transparent government and open access to information. Today, this reality is under constant threat, whether from the fragile nature of digital data or the ongoing risk that information can be easily removed from the public domain. Threats like these demand a greater awareness and accountability