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Disaster Planning & Vital Records

Disaster planning and vital records protection are critical elements of an effective records management program. The state Continuity of Government Office under the Office of Administration requires state government to develop plans to protect records that are vital to governmental activities so that critical services will be uninterrupted, maintained or restored in the event of a disaster. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is responsible for disseminating information to these agencies relating to the identification, preservation and protection of vital records.

In addition to providing training sessions relating to disaster planning and vital records protection, staff of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Bureau of Archives and History have prepared templates (Microsoft Word) for a Disaster Response and Recovery Plan for Records with related appendices, and a Vital Records Protection Plan. These templates can be used by a variety of state agencies as a supplement to their existing COOP plans to help further prepare for potential disasters that could affect their records. By filling in the appropriate information, a state agency can tailor these two plans to address its specific needs and programs. Please click on the following links to take you to the templates designed specifically for state agencies, boards and commissions:

State Disaster Plan Template (MS Word file)
State Disaster Plan Template--Appendices (MS Word file)
State Vital Records Plan Template (MS Word file)

State agencies should contact Jerry Ellis of the Bureau of Archives and History at 717-787-3384 or ra-StateRecordsMgmt@pa.gov. Mail inquires may be sent to Jerry Ellis at the following address: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives Building, 350 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0090.

The Department of General Services also has a Records and Document Recovery Services Contract (PDF file) available for state agencies in need of immediate recovery and restoration services for non-electronic documents.

If you need further assistance, please contact us at Ra-staterecordsmgmt@pa.gov.

Forms and Directives

	Name
	Authorized Personnel Form
Document Title:	Authorized Personnel Form
	Authorized Personnel Form Instructions
Document Title:
	File Plan Template
Document Title:
	M210.1
Document Title:	Commonwealth of PA Employee Records Management Manual
	M210.7
Document Title:	Manual on the Commonwealth Records Management program
	MD210.5
Document Title:	Commonwealth of PA State Records Management Program
	STD-56
Document Title:	Records Action Requests Summary and Deletion
	STD-59
Document Title:	Records Transfer List
	STD-59-GS
Document Title:
	STD-59-P79
Document Title:	Personnel Records Transfer Lists
	STD-61
Document Title:	Reference Request
	STD-62
Document Title:	Records Disposal Report
	STD-64
Document Title:	Records Action Request:Addition or Amendment to Records Retention and Disposition Schedules
	STD-64 Instructions
Document Title:	Records Action Request: Addition or Amendment to Records Instructions
	STD-65
Document Title:	Microfilm Requirement Analysis
	STD-66
Document Title:	Request to Acquire Microfilm Equipment