The Illinois State Records Act allows agencies to digitize paper records in order to save space and promote discoverability, but they require institutions to follow current standards when doing so. Here are recommended steps:
The Illinois State Records Management Manual gives these guidelines to organizing and managing your emails to comply with the Retention and Disposition Schedule.
File Naming Conventions
File naming conventions are structured guidelines for describing the subject and date of the content in a digital file. These allow for easy identification, organization, and management of digitally created (born-digital) files. Using file naming conventions will allow you to easily locate files that have reached their retention period and are ready for disposal. Best practices recommend defining and following the same file naming conventions throughout the entire office or unit.
Guidelines
See the examples below.
Example 1
Avoid: meeting_minutes.pdf
Use: 20210217_Board-of-Trustees_Meeting-Minutes.pdf
Example 2
Avoid: P1010006.jpg
Use: 20081219_HR_HolidayParty_LeeAnnJones.jpg
Example 3
Avoid: records retention powerpoint presentation.ppt
Use: 20190110_RecordsRetention_RetentionScheduleProposal.ppt