• NMHRB Awards Grants
• Assessment of the Records and Information Environment Within state government
• NMHRAB Workshop: Preserving New Mexico's Historical Record
• Disposition of E-Mail
• Historical Society Annual Conference
• Free Microfiche Readers
• San Miguel County Territorial Adoptions Records
• Recent legislative Actions
• Organization of New Mexico genealogical Group
• Commission of Public Records Members

             Back Issues:

• January 1999

NMHRAB Awards Grants

The New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board (NMHRAB) has completed its first-ever grant funding cycle. Thirty-two grant proposals, totaling $161,619.09 were received against the February 15, 1999 deadline. Applicants represented counties, municipalities, State agencies, museums, historical societies, universities, church groups, and genealogy and preservation organizations from around the state. At its regular meeting on March 1, 1999, the NMHRAB awarded $74,237.75 to 15 organizations, with grants ranging from $500 (the minimum) to $8,500 (the maximum). The following table identifies the organization, the grant awarded, the organization’s match, and the total for the project.

The projects funded address a variety of issues. One of the projects funded offers statewide, low-cost, archival training. The training will be offered four times in various locations. Other projects will address preservation of collections. Some will re-house documents, some propose to microfilm/digitize records and some both. Access is the objective of other projects by creating, automating or expanding finding aids or cataloguing records. Several projects combine both preservation and access. A few organizations will be assessing their collections and developing plans to organize, preserve and improve access to them.

The NMHRAB is pleased with the level of participation it received in this funding cycle. Plans are under way to update the grant guidelines and applications to address comments from the public and the board. Revisions will be discussed at the May board meeting, and public comment is welcome. Further, the board will conduct more in-depth training on the guidelines in September, October and possibly November to assist organizations with their grant proposals. Any comments or suggestions should be addressed to Elaine Olah at eolah@rain.state.nm.us or 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505.

An Assessment of the Records and Information
Environment Within State Government

By Don Padilla
Records Management Division

The Records Management Division, in conjunction with the State Archives and Historical Services Division, conducted a records and information management survey of State agencies during the early part of fiscal year 1999.

Information obtained through the survey will be used by the State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) to modify its strategic business plan that addresses the records and information needs of State government. The ultimate goal of SRCA’s strategic business plan is to achieve it’s mission "to protect, preserve, provide access and promote the use of the public records that document the rights and history of the people of New Mexico."

The questions used in the survey were developed jointly with the Archives and Historical Services Division. The intent of the questions was to obtain an overview of the records and information environment throughout State government. This overview was obtained by surveying State agencies, boards, commissions, and elected offices. On July 22, 1998, 437 survey forms were sent out to 95 agency heads and 342 records liaison officers. There were 106 responses to the survey.

Agencies were asked a series of questions on inactive records on-site, permanent records stored on-site, the use of Records Retention and Disposition Schedules (RRDS), Records and Information Management workshops sponsored by SRCA, and the Public Records Act. Agencies were also asked about the disposition of records in electronic media, electronic back-up, vital records plan, and microphotography systems. The survey results appear to indicate real challenges for the Records Management Division in the management of records and information on electronic media. As suspected, there was an overall sense of not knowing what is going on with electronic media.

The Records Management Division will use the information provided by the survey to map out a course in a five-year strategic plan to address on-site storage of inactive records, electronic media issues, and improved methods for developing and presenting current records and information management information.

A copy of the full report plus response data tabulations is available from the Records Management Division.

 Preserving New Mexico’s
Historical Record Workshop

By Paula Varela

The New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board will be offering a free workshop titled, "Preserving New Mexico’s Historical Record." This workshop will be held on May 13-14, 1999, at Zimmerman Library, on the University of New Mexico campus. The objective of the workshop is to provide the necessary instruction to enable entities to use basic preservation and conservation techniques. This workshop will also include hands-on practice of book and paper treatment. Registration will be ongoing until May 1, 1999; however, class size is limited to twenty people. To register for the workshop please call (505) 476-7902, or write NM State Records Center and Archives, 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87505.

 Disposition of E-mail

By Don Padilla
Records Management Division

Initially, E-mail was used to arrange meeting dates and social events, confirm appointments, etc. With expanded technical capabilities, E-mail is used to transmit and access a wide variety of information. It is easier and faster to share documents "over the network" than to prepare hard-copy correspondence. E-mail is now used to send official responses within the governmental community and to the general public.

State and local government entities need to recognize that E-mail as a communications vehicle can contain public records. These records are subject to the same statutory provisions that govern all other public records. E-mail records need to be managed in a similar fashion to records maintained in other media.

Is E-mail a record? The information contained in an E-mail message is considered a record. A record is "information preserved by any technique in any medium now known, or later developed, that can be recognized by ordinary human sensory capabilities either directly or with the aid of technology" (1 NMAC 3.55). If the electronic information received or created via an E-mail system is the basis for decision-making, explains or interprets policy, or performs official office functions, then that information is a record as defined in statute. Public records are "all books, papers, maps, photographs, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any agency in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public business, preserved or appropriate for preservation, by the agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities of the government, or because of the informational and historical value of data contained therein" (Public Records Act).

Non-records. There are categories of uses that are typically not records. These "non-record" categories include such things as arranging lunch or social appointments, confirming meeting dates, forwarded copies of documents, phone messages, etc. These uses do not generally produce records that need to be retained. Non-records are the convenience copies or drafts of records created or received by public bodies. Non-records are not evidence of the activities of public bodies. As such, these E-mail (non-record) messages should be deleted or disposed of as soon as possible to cut down on the amount of electronic storage space being used for E-mail.

Creating E-mail files. All E-mail systems have some sort of directory or folder scheme to assist in organizing E-mail communiques. Using the scheme available, "E-mail files" should be established along the same lines used for setting-up hard files. As with hard files, the question that needs to be asked is whether the information being received and/or sent is a record or not. If the answer is yes, a method for ensuring retention and access to the information should be selected.

When creating E-mail files, agency staff should consult the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule (RRDS) for their agency as well as the RRDS for general records. Creating E-mail files in coordination with these schedules will assist State agencies in the disposition (deletion) of E-mail files in accordance with 1 NMAC 3.2.50.1.9.3 Destruction of Public Records (Agency destruction of public records). For example, GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE FILES (1 NMAC 3.2.90.10.A109) need to be retained for "1 year after close of fiscal year in which created," then they may be destroyed. So despite the format, General Correspondence Files must be retained for one year. By placing all of a year’s general correspondence in a single E-mail file, it can all be deleted at the same time.

How long should E-mail be retained? First, review E-mail files using agency RRDS and disposition policies. If E-mail files include documentation similar to that contained in the RRDS, the E-mail should be retained for the periods of time indicated. Depending upon the capacity of the personal computer and/or the network, it may be necessary to copy E-mail files to diskettes or other electronic storage devices in order to retain the files for the required period of time (retention period). By removing E-mail files in accordance with RRDS and disposition policies, computer storage space will be freed up.

Is there a procedure for destroying records? The State Records Center and Archives is responsible for the timely and appropriate destruction of all State public records. The State Records Administrator has issued an administrative rule governing the destruction of State public records (1 NMAC 3.2.50.1 Destruction of Public Records).

The destruction of State public records must be approved by the State Records Administrator and may occur on-site at the custodial agency or through the State Records Center. State agencies that choose to store public records for the life cycle of the records may either contact the State Records Center for transfer and destruction or may elect to use the following procedure for disposition of public records. The Records Liaison Officers of State agencies shall request in writing permission to destroy public records.

The destruction of non-records is the sole responsibility of the custodial entity and does not require the prior approval of the State Records Administrator. That responsibility includes identifying whether the information is a non-record or a public record as identified in the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. If it is in a current retention schedule, it is a public record. If there is any doubt, it should be treated as a public record or contact the Records Management Division (Agency Analysis Bureau) (505) 476-7907.

 Historical Society Annual Conference Set for Alamogordo

The 1999 Historical Society of New Mexico Annual Conference will be held at Alamogordo, April 8-10. This year, the Society is pleased to join its co-sponsor, the Alamogordo/Otero County Centennial Celebration Committee, in observing the 100th anniversary of the creation of Otero County and the founding of the City of Alamogordo.

The conference kicks off Thursday evening, April 8, with registration at the Tays Special Events Center from 1:00 – 4:00 P. M. The Historical Society Annual Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting will be held that afternoon at Tays Center, followed by a reception for anyone attending the conference. At 7:00 P. M. the International Space Hall of Fame will have a special showing at their OMNIMAX theatre. As is customary at the annual conference, a number of book dealers and publishers will be displaying and selling a great assortment books ranging from the rare and out-of-print books to those hot off the presses.

Conference sessions begin at 9:00 A.M., Friday morning, April 9, at the Alamogordo Civic Center on First Street. Sessions on Colonial New Mexico and automation of archival collections kick off the scheduled presentations on Friday. Subsequent presentations by a distinguished group of authorities on New Mexico history will include papers on such diverse topics as the military in territorial New Mexico, to tourism and libraries. A number of papers will also tell of some of New Mexico’s interesting personalities. Sessions devoted to the Hembrillo battlefield and the Tularosa ditch litigation may be of special interest to folks in Otero County and the vicinity. A session on General Stephen Watts Kearny will feature a paper by Kearny’s great-great granddaughter. At 5:00 P. M. the annual book auction will be held at the Elks Club. Hors d’oeurves and a no- host bar will also be available to enhance this fun event.

Conference presentations continue until noon on Saturday. That afternoon several local tours are scheduled, and the conference will officially conclude Saturday evening with the annual awards banquet at the Elks Club. On Sunday, day tours of the Orogrande mines and the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Gravesite are planned. Tour information will be available at the registration desk.

If you wish to obtain an official program and registration information call State Historian (and current Historical Society President) Robert J. Torrez at (505) 476-7955. Programs and motel information will also be available through the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce at (505) 437-6120.

Free Microfiche Readers

Lemm’s Microfilm Services, Inc., in Rio Rancho, is giving away microfiche readers . If you are interested, please call Mr. Lemm at 1-888-299-1513. If you have any questions regarding microfilming services, please call James Clokey with the Micrographics Bureau of the State Records Center & Archives, 476-7930.

San Miguel County Territorial
Adoption Records (1891-1911)

By Daphne Arnaiz DeLeon
Archives & Historical Services Bureau

During the last two decades of the New Mexico Territorial Period (1893-1912), adoptions (also called legitimizations) were conducted by the county probate courts. Adoption statutes stipulated that the applicants would be bound to their adoptive child as if he/she were their natural child and the adopted child in turn would be bound to the adoptive parents as if they were his/her natural parents. These reciprocal relationships lasted the lifetime of the adopted child and the adoptive parents. The various statues (1853,1870,1893), enacted by the Territorial Legislative Assembly, governing adoptions established a system whereby certain types of documents were created by the applicants and by the probate court. These documents were:

Petition/Declaration – A formal request submitted to the court by applicants to legally adopt a minor (person less than 21 years of age). A petition had to contain the following information: if the applicant was married or single; if the applicant was married did he/she have legitimate heirs; the birth age or circumstances of the adopted child; and the reasons why adoption would be advantageous to the adopted child. This petition often included at the bottom of the document a sworn statement by the applicant of the veracity of the facts in the petition.

Consent of the natural parents – If the natural parents were capable of presenting themselves at the probate court, then a statement of consent would be signed in court. If the natural parents were not able to be present in the court than a written consent could be presented in their place.

Court Order/Certificate of Adoption – After the probate judge had reviewed the petition, and if he granted the adoption, he created this document as proof that the applicants had legally adopted a minor.

Other Documents – Some adoption cases contain affidavits, summons, and guardianship records.

Contained within the San Miguel County Records – Probate Court subseries is one-half linear foot of adoption records. These records span approximately the last two decades of New Mexico’s Territorial Period (1891-1911) and are primarily petitions filed in the San Miguel Probate Court by applicants. Petitions contain important familial information for the genealogist and the historian.

One example of a petition from the San Miguel County Records-Probate Court subseries is the request for the adoption of Mary, Portia, and Douglas Field by the Children’s Home Society of New Mexico and Arizona (1909). The 1893 statute, enacted by the Territorial Assembly, stated that "Any minor child may be adopted by any adult person or charitable association, or incorporation organized and existing for the custody, care, maintenance, and education of orphan, illegitimate, abandoned, and other children…" This petition is the only example of a charitable organization requesting to adopt a child in the San Miguel County – Probate Court subseries.

The petition begins with the presentation of the "charitable association" and the reasons as to why adoption would benefit the children. The genealogist/historian discovers in reading the entire document the age of the children, the names of their natural parents, the fact that the father has abandoned the children, and that the mother is "mentally unbalanced."

The value of these adoption records is heightened by the scarcity of these types of documents in the Archives’ county collections and their confidentiality in the 20th century. Adoption records after 1912 are legally sealed and restricted and are in the custody of the New Mexico Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics.

 Legislative Actions Concerning Rulemaking

By Al Regensberg
State Rules Division

Several interesting bills were introduced at the recently concluded regular session of the New Mexico Legislature.

House Bill 599, introduced by Representative Thomas C. Taylor, sought to constrain agency rulemaking and limit the number of promulgated rules. The bill required that for every new rule or every amendment which substantially extended the scope of a rule, another rule would be repealed. This one-for-one requirement was excepted when an agency was issuing rules in direct response to new enabling statutes. This legislation, if enacted, would have prompted agencies engaged in rulemaking to review their current rules. If requested, the Rules Division would have supported their efforts by producing lengthy reports showing each current rule itemized by agency, description, filing date and other factors.

Senate Bill 146 introduced by Senator Pauline Eisenstadt proposed changes to the Electronic Authentication of Documents Act to clarify its purpose and change certain definitions. Changes made to the definitions section include definitions of "certificate" and "digital signature" and replacement of "secure hash code" with the synonymous but preferred term "message digest function." This bill was signed by Governor Gary Johnson and will require the Rules Division to change its rule, 1 NMAC 3.2.70.2 "Electronic Authentication" for adoption by the Commission of Public Records. Successful implementation of the Electronic Authentication of Documents Act is essential if the Rules Division is to develop an effective electronic rules environment.

Senate Bill 579 introduced by Senator Leonard Lee Rawson and its companion House Bill 721 introduced by Rep. Thomas C. Taylor established a timetable to sunset every State agency by July 1, 2002, unless the agency were re-authorized by the legislature based upon a recommendation by the Sunset Commission (also established by the bill). Senate Bill 579 was amended to delete constitutional entities from the list of agencies subject to the bill. One section of the bill required every State agency subject to the Act to review its rules within six months of the effective date of the Act and then update them annually. Additionally, agencies were required to submit a report to the Sunset Commission on a yearly basis. The Rules Division would likely have been asked to generate reports for each agency and for the Sunset Commission in its oversight of the process. Also, the Rules Division, as a part of the State Records Center and Archives, would have been required to conduct a yearly review of its own rules to validate their purpose.

ORGANIZATION OF NORTHERN
NEW MEXICO GENEALOGY GROUP

Sandra Jaramillo
Archives & Historical Services Division

A genealogical group, affiliated with the New Mexico Hispanic Genealogical Society, has been formed. Memberships are being solicited from the North Central counties of Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Taos, San Miguel, Mora, and Colfax counties.  Meetings will be held once a month in Santa Fe. For more information please call Clara Gonzales at (505) 471-5901 or (505) 471-3956.

Any questions or comments may be directed to Elaine Olah, State Records Administrator at (505) 476-7911. If you would like to receive a copy of our newsletter, contact Paula Varela at (505) 476-7902, by e-mail at pvarela@rain.state.nm.us, or by mail at NM State Records Center and Archives, 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505.