This manual for local government officials provides a basic introduction to all aspects of records management, including the administration of an archival program. The direct result of two recent projects which have affected State Archives services toward local governments, the manual is intended to introduce and briefly explain the essential concepts of records management, suggest practical ways of applying them, and define the relationship between records management and archival administration. The manual comprises eight chapters: (1) Managing Local Government Records: An Introduction; (2) Retention and Disposition of Records; (3) Surveying and Analyzing Records; (4) Records Controls; (5) Inactive Records; (6) Microfilm; (7) Archival Records; and (8) Where to Turn for More Help (a directory of other archives of state agencies, locally operating government records management programs, professional organizations and associations, local government associations, and publications). Three appendices include selected state laws and regulations pertaining to local government records; explanations of terms used in the manual; and a list of findings and recommendations and the full text of the section on local government records from "Toward a Usable Past," the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board's 1984 report to Governor Cuomo. (THC)