Session 23 - Embracing RAD Assistance: Automating the Request for Archival Description (RAD) Process

Transferring records for archival preservation is never a straightforward process. It can be a convoluted process with numerous emails and forms back and forth between different stakeholders such as requesters, record managers, and archivists. For instance, records designated for archival review must go through a comprehensive assessment before they can be destroyed or transferred to archives. With multiple decisions and end-results, the stakeholders could often lose track and get lost in the process.

In 2020, the University of Texas at Austin’s Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) and Briscoe Center for American History (BCAH) University Archives recognized this issue in their cross-departmental workflow, Request for Archival Description, and launched a project to address the issue by integrating robotic process automation. After two years, the multi-phase project successfully streamlined and automated the workflow by connecting common Microsoft 365 tools, Forms, SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams, using Microsoft Power Automate.

This session will focus on reimaging a day-to-day record management workflow utilizing no-code and low-code tools from Microsoft Power Platform. It will delve into how the project successfully implemented, documented, and maintained the adopted automation solutions as well as lessons learned during two years of coordinating the project. Furthermore, the speakers will share how cultivating a collaborative and communicative relationship between records managers and archivists has benefited both departments.

Target Audiences: Federal, State/Tribal, Local, Public Institutions of Higher Learning

Focus Areas: Archives, Records Management, Technology/Tools

Presenters: Hyeeyoung Kim, Digital Archivist, University of Texas at Austin, and Elista Street, Records and Information Manager, University of Texas at Austin