§ 1258.10 - How does NARA develop and publicize new records reproduction fees?

§ 1258.10 How does NARA develop and publicize new records reproduction fees?

(a) Custodial units prepare a justification proposal for a proposed records reproduction service and send the justification to the custodial unit office head, through appropriate channels, for concurrence and forwarding to NATF. The justification proposal includes, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Estimated monthly volume of product orders based on available historical data;

(2) Identification of the equipment and supplies required to provide the product and service;

(3) Brief description of the process required to provide the product and service, including the amount of time for each number and grade level of staff.

(4) Identification of any services or products that will be replaced by the proposed products and services;

(5) Identification of other NARA units that may have a demand for the proposed services; and

(6) Any other relevant information.

(b) After receiving the proposal, NATF staff:

(1) Assesses the potential customer base for the proposed products and services, consulting other NARA offices.

(2) If the potential demand does not warrant establishing fees for new records reproduction products and services, NATF notifies the proposing office that the new product and service are not approved and the reasons why.

(3) If the potential demand warrants, NATF prepares a cost analysis following the methodology in § 1258.6 and develops a proposed recommended fee for review by NARA's Financial Resources Division and approval by the Archivist of the United States.

(c) Notification of new records reproduction services and trial periods:

(1) The public will be notified of new records reproduction services, including the business case for determining initial fee, on-line at http://www.archives.gov, by press releases, and through NARA's social media outlets.

(2) New records reproduction services fees have an initial trial period of one year. During this time, the public is encouraged to provide feedback to NARA about the new records reproduction services and their fees as directed in the notification of the new services.

(3) Prior to the expiration of a trial period, NATF will assess the validity of the fees for the new records reproduction products and services, and make one of three determinations:

(i) Retain products, services and fees;

(ii) Retain products or services but adjust fees up or down; or

(iii) Discontinue products or services.

(d) The public will be notified of NATF determination, including business case for determination, in NARA research rooms nationwide, on-line at http://www.archives.gov, press releases, and through NARA's social media outlets.