Section 2 of the survey asked participants to indicate which units (i.e., library, archives, records management, or other), if any, have authority for setting standards for digital information created or maintained by executive, legislative, and judicial agencies. Respondents were also asked to indicate which of these units, if any, provide services related to digital information to these agencies. The findings in this section are based on state-level responses. Thirty-seven states and one territory are included in the analysis for a total of 38 responses. Each includes representation from both the library and archives units; in many but not all these responses, records management units and several other units were represented as well. Table 14 lists the specific authorities and services included in the survey.

Table 14. Authority for setting standards and services provided for digital information for executive, legislative, and judicial agencies
Authority for setting standards
Setting data management standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., metadata, file formats)
Setting information technology standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., state approved software applications)
Setting standards for information retention and disposal (e.g., retention periods and methods of disposal) for various series/types of digital records and publications
Services provided
Storage for digital information
Consultation and training services on digital information creation
Consultation and training services on digital information management
Consultation and training services on digital information preservation
Consultation and training services on digital information access
Preservation (e.g., migration, reformatting)
Access (e.g., search engine)
Certification (e.g., trustworthiness of system, backups sufficient)

For each of the standards and services respondents were asked to identify the following:

• Authority not assigned or Services not provided
• L has authority or L provides services
• A has authority or A provides services
• RM has authority or RM provides services
• Other (non-LARM unit) (for both authority for setting standards and providing services)

In this section, respondents were allowed to select all that apply if authority or providing services were shared or delegated. As a result responses indicate that authority for setting standards and providing services is shared across multiple units. Therefore, the original categories were modified and then used to summarize results. In general, the modified categories map to the original categories provided to respondents, but they allow findings about shared authority and responsibility to be highlighted as well.

With respect to authority:

• Authority not assigned
• L has authority
• L shares authority with A, RM, or both
• A, RM, or both have authority
• Other (non-LARM unit) has authority

With respect to services:

• Services not provided
• L provides services
• L provides services with A, RM, or both
• A, RM, or both provide services
• Other (non-LARM unit) provides services

Please note as a consequence of these modifications percentages across the rows of Tables 15-20 do not add up to 100.

Regardless of the branch of government with authority for setting standards, it is most often assigned to units other than the state LARM units. There appears to be one exception to this finding having to do with standards for information retention and disposal for various series/types of digital records and publications for executive agencies. In these cases, authority for setting retention and disposal standards that govern executive agencies is assigned to archives and records management units and in some cases shared among these units and the library.

Table 15. Authority for setting standards for digital information created or maintained by executive agencies
Standard	Authority not assigned	L has authority alone	L shares authority with A, RM, or both	A, RM, or both have authority alone	L, A, or RM share authority with Other	Only Other has authority
Setting data management standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., metadata, file formats)	11% (4)	3% (1)	5% (2)	11% (4)	34% (13)	37% (14)
Setting information technology standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., state approved software applications)	13% (5)	0% (0)	0% (0)	5% (2)	16% (6)	66% (25)
Setting standards for information retention and disposal (e.g., retention periods and methods of disposal) for various series/types of digital records and publications	5% (2)	0% (0)	21% (8)	39% (15)	26% (10)	8% (3)

Table 16. Authority for setting standards for digital information created or maintained by legislative agencies
Standard	Authority not assigned	L has authority alone	L shares authority with A, RM, or both	A, RM, or both have authority alone	L, A, or RM share authority with Other	Only Other has authority
Setting data management standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., metadata, file formats)	29% (11)	3% (1)	3% (1)	8% (3)	13% (5)	39% (15)
Setting information technology standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., state approved software applications)	26% (10)	0% (0)	0% (0)	3% (1)	3% (1)	63% (24)
Setting standards for information retention and disposal (e.g., retention periods and methods of disposal) for various series/types of digital records and publications	21% (8)	0% (0)	8% (3)	26% (10)	18% (7)	24% (9)

Table 17. Authority for setting standards for digital information created or maintained by judicial agencies
Standard	Authority not assigned	L has authority alone	L shares authority with A, RM, or both	A, RM, or both have authority alone	L, A, or RM share authority with Other	Only Other has authority
Setting data management standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., metadata, file formats)	16% (6)	3% (1)	0% (0)	8% (3)	11% (4)	61% (23)
Setting information technology standards and or guidelines for information creation (e.g., state approved software applications)	13% (5)	0% (0)	0% (0)	0% (0)	5% (2)	82% (31)
Setting standards for information retention and disposal (e.g., retention periods and methods of disposal) for various series/types of digital records and publications	13% (5)	0% (0)	11% (4)	18% (7)	18% (7)	39% (15)

Responsibility for providing services to executive agencies is most often held by state LARM units. For judicial agencies, however, this responsibility most often falls outside of that state’s LARM units. The one exception to this finding is in the area of digital information access. Consultation and training in this area are provided to judicial agencies by various combinations of state LARM units.

Legislative agencies are supported in a more mixed method. Four of the services – digital information creation, consultation and training services on digital information management, consultation and training services on digital information preservation, and preservation (e.g., migration, reformatting) – are the responsibility of a combination of the ARM units sometimes in conjunction with L units. Three of the services – storage for digital information, access (e.g. search engine), and certification (e.g., trustworthiness of system, backups sufficient) – most often reside with units other than LARM.

Table 18. Services provided to executive agencies
Service	Service not provided	L provides service alone	L provides service with A, RM, or both	A, RM, or both provide service alone	L, A, or RM provide service with Other	Only Other provides service
Storage for digital information	11% (4)	8% (3)	11% (4)	8% (3)	34% (13)	29% (11)
Consultation and training services on digital information creation	21% (8)	5% (2)	8% (3)	18% (7)	32% (12)	16% (6)
Consultation and training services on digital information management	13% (5)	5% (2)	3% (1)	42% (16)	32% (12)	5% (2)
Consultation and training services on digital information preservation	18% (7)	3% (1)	21% (8)	45% (17)	11% (4)	3% (1)
Consultation and training services on digital information access	26% (10)	13% (5)	11% (4)	18% (7)	18% (7)	16% (6)
Preservation (e.g., migration, reformatting)	18% (7)	11% (4)	11% (4)	24% (9)	26% (10)	11% (4)
Access (e.g., search engine)	13% (5)	21% (8)	8% (3)	11% (4)	26% (10)	21% (8)
Certification (e.g., trustworthiness of system, backups sufficient)	34% (13)	5% (2)	0% (0)	5% (2)	16% (6)	37% (14)

Table 19. Services provided to legislative agencies
Service	Service not provided	L provides service alone	L provides service with A, RM, or both	A, RM, or both provide service alone	L, A, or RM provide service with Other	Only Other provides service
Storage for digital information	13% (5)	3% (1)	13% (5)	5% (2)	32% (12)	34% (13)
Consultation and training services on digital information creation	26% (10)	3% (1)	5% (2)	18% (7)	18% (7)	29% (11)
Consultation and training services on digital information management	24% (9)	3% (1)	3% (1)	24% (9)	21% (8)	26% (10)
Consultation and training services on digital information preservation	26% (10)	3% (1)	5% (2)	37% (14)	11% (4)	16% (6)
Consultation and training services on digital information access	32% (12)	3% (1)	3% (1)	21% (8)	13% (5)	29% (11)
Preservation (e.g., migration, reformatting)	18% (7)	3% (1)	11% (4)	21% (8)	18% (7)	29% (11)
Access (e.g., search engine)	18% (7)	13% (5)	11% (4)	3% (1)	18% (7)	37% (14)
Certification (e.g., trustworthiness of system, backups sufficient)	37% (14)	0% (0)	0% (0)	5% (2)	5% (2)	50% (19)

Table 20. Services provided to judicial agencies
Service	Service not provided	L provides service alone	L provides service with A, RM, or both	A, RM, or both provide service alone	L, A, or RM provide service with Other	Only Other provides service
Storage for digital information	13% (5)	3% (1)	5% (2)	11% (4)	24% (9)	45% (17)
Consultation and training services on digital information creation	18% (7)	3% (1)	0% (0)	21% (8)	16% (6)	42% (16)
Consultation and training services on digital information management	16% (6)	3% (1)	3% (1)	24% (9)	16% (6)	39% (15)
Consultation and training services on digital information preservation	26% (10)	3% (1)	0% (0)	26% (10)	16% (6)	29% (11)
Consultation and training services on digital information access	21% (8)	3% (1)	0% (0)	16% (6)	21% (8)	39% (15)
Preservation (e.g., migration, reformatting)	39% (15)	0% (0)	5% (2)	13% (5)	16% (6)	26% (10)
Access (e.g., search engine)	29% (11)	5% (2)	8% (3)	5% (2)	18% (7)	34% (13)
Certification (e.g., trustworthiness of system, backups sufficient)	37% (14)	0% (0)	0% (0)	3% (1)	5% (2)	53% (20)

The following additional conclusions can be drawn from the data:

• Responsibility for providing services to executive agencies was found to be assigned most often to LARM units.
• Responsibility for providing services to legislative and judicial agencies was found to be divided among LARM and the agencies themselves, depending on the nature of the service.
• State Libraries are most frequently identified as having responsibility for providing access services (e.g., search engine). In most cases they were identified as having sole responsibility for this service.
• The archives, records management, or a combination of the two are identified most frequently as having responsibility for consultation and training services for digital information management and digital information preservation services.
• Responsibility for providing certification services across the three branches of government was found to lie outside of the LARM units or not provided at all. A small number of ARM units were identified as having this responsibility for legislative agencies in particular.