-This is a Federal Records Center, part of the National Archives and Records
Administration. We store records for agencies of the federal government.
-We have records centers around the country. We are the single largest provider to
the federal workforce.
-It is cheaper to store records with us than it is in their office environments.
-The Federal Records Centers have a commitment to
help federal agencies manage those records regardless of what media they're created on.
-Because we are government our federal customers look to us for that expertise.
-Definitely it is good to do business with records centers-- will help you
in your agencies with reckless management solution.
-Their staff members
seem to be eager to help and to educate in the way of records. You can't beat the
customer service for the Federal Records Center.
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-Federal agencies generate thousands of paper and electronic records each day.
These records and their accessibility are critical to the business of
government. Over time, systems and technologies evolve but one thing
remains constant-- a need for secure storage and management of records which
represent our nation's history.
-The Federal Records Centers date back to the
1950s when they were first established and since that point the centers have
grown to now comprising more than 17 centers around the country. We have
records centers in the Washington D.C. area and records centers in each of our
regions around the United States.
-Today the federal records centers known as
FRCs help U.S. agencies manage their workloads through secure and
cost-effective fee-for-service storage of these temporary records . Each of NARA's
Federal Records Centers has unique capabilities to serve your storage and
retrieval needs. Our centers feature award-winning designs and in many cases
unmatched capacity. In total we house more than 25 million boxes of records,
some as deep as 80 feet underground. -These are limestone mines. It's good to
have facilities located underground because there's a natural climate control down here.
-We're in what we call Ice Cube. It's actually a cold storage
for films of the National Archives and this is the proper
temperature to store film in.
-Unique among the centers is the National
Personnel Records Center, NPRC, which is one of NARA's largest operations.
Items in NPRC's care include those of everyday heroes both military and
civilian as well as personnel records of the famous and the infamous.
Many FRCs have special services for federal customers from help with transfers to
rapid servicing of reference requests to proper disposition of records and the
suite of services in between.
-Many regions do have metro carrier service,
where you're basically getting door-to-door delivery of records. We will
do a fast pack which is we will go in and assist agencies with packing their
records up for transfer to the record center and actually prepare the standard
Form 135 which is the transfer document so it's basically a shelf to shelf
delivery of records.
-We're also offering records sent back by email and we call
that service Smart Scan-- we'll actually go in and scan these files for these-- for
our customers instead of having to fax these records back or send them back by
mail, digitize those records and send back by email.
When federal records are
needed their importance can be critical. The FRC specialize in fast, efficient
records retrieval, handling 13 million reference requests per year. That's 6,000
requests fulfilled per hour.
To make sure our customers are satisfied we make sure
that we get those documents a 24 hour turnaround. -Interagency agreements make
dealing with the FRC easy for federal agencies we also help with the planning process.
-Most of the time what the agency is looking for is some type of statistical
report-- what their agencies have been doing over the years-- so I can provide
them with their storage 5 to 10 years back so they can determine their budget needs.
Federal records are the FRC's only business. We serve over 400 federal
agencies from the largest cabinet level departments to the smallest federal
offices. No one knows the records management needs of your agency better
than NARA. Our customers include the IRS, U.S. courts, OPM, Social Security
Administration and the department's of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Housing and
Urban Development, and Justice to name a few. They depend on the FRCs to help with
every stage of the record's life-cycle. -At the end of the useful life those records
are either destroyed, and the vast majority are destroyed, or that maybe
three to four percent will be then appraised as permanent and then
accessioned into the National Archives.
-The Federal Records Centers provide the
customers with a one-stop shopping place because we're federal we have a vested
interest in their records as much as they do because our mission is to
protect and preserve those records. -We also offer training to federal agencies
on records management and new services for electronic records.
-Technology's a tool just like quill and parchment was back in the day and we are capturing
history right this moment and if we can protect it and make sure it endures the
idea that centuries from now others will be looking at that information with the
same reverence that we look at those parchment documents is really exciting to me.
-Agencies have long trusted us for management of inactive records. We can
also store active records, freeing your agency staff to focus on mission critical work.
-I think agencies like knowing that NARA is also watching over
their shoulder and looking at the records control schedule and actually
serving as an expert on their behalf. -Based on federal regulations some
records are saved for a few years while others are kept for 75 years or more.
When your records have reached the end of their life-cycle
the FRCs notify your agency. We then properly dispose of your agency's
records. Each year we recycle 18,000 tons of paper records which saves the
equivalent of more than a quarter million trees. Secure storage of your
agency's most sensitive records is an FRC priority with classified storage
facilities, vaults for a variety of specific sensitive records, and FRC
employees with high security clearances and extensive background checks you can
trust that your agency's classified materials are in the best of care.
-All of our facilities fully meet the federal regulations and the center's have the
highest level of security to protect records.
-As for the bottom line for many
agencies storing records presents an expensive logistical dilemma. Records
take up valuable office space. Storing records in prime office space can cost
up to 10 times as much as it would at a Federal Records Center and so on average
we save agencies nearly one-and-a-half million dollars per day compared to
storage and office space. When it comes to federal records storage make the
secure choice. Trust the Federal Records Centers of the National Archives and
Records Administration to help your agency every step of the way.
-Everybody that works in the record centers brings that passion and that pride to their
work. I mean we know that we're doing it for a greater cause.
-What I love most about my job is talking one-on-one with the community of our customers and assisting out customers.
-The FRC actually has the highest level of customer service, in my opinion.
from the drivers, to the appraisal archivist, to the account representative
and the cost-effectiveness. -Our customers are in good hands.
-Passport services is very pleased with the services we have here and we are
certainly very happy customers. -We talk with customers to learn what other
business needs and then develop top flight services so we are confident in
protecting the information assets of the federal government.
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