Fed. agencies are increasingly using electronic mail (e-mail) for essential communication. In doing so, they are potentially creating messages that have the status of fed. records, which must be managed and preserved in accordance with the Fed. Records Act. Under the act, both the Nat. Archives and Records Admin. (NARA) and fed. agencies have responsibilities for managing fed. records, including e-mail records. In view of the importance that e-mail plays in documenting gov¿t. activities, this report reviews the extent to which NARA provides oversight of fed. records mgmt., describes selected agencies¿ processes for managing e-mail records, and assesses these agencies¿ e-mail policies and key practices. Includes recommendations. Charts.