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COLUMBIA (WACH/AP) -- South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is announcing a new policy spelling out what records her office must maintain.

Haley's office and the state archives agency signed the document this week. It represents the first time in 40 years that a governor has collaborated with the agency to develop a records retention policy. You can read the new retention policy here.

Previously the policy on what her office must retain is believed to be a leftover from 1974, which predates e-mails and other technology and was open to interpretation.

"...even as we preserved thousands of records and correspondence, we found room to strengthen the policy," Gov. Haley said in a release. "We couldn’t be more excited to announce the first record retention policy a governor’s office has developed with and that has been approved by DAH in 40 years – it’s the right thing to do.”

The new policy follows criticism about deleted emails. The issue arose last fall after open records requests from media outlets revealed Haley's office routinely deleted emails.

At the time the director of the South Carolina Press Association said emails between staffers in the governor's office are public records and should be kept.

"I think it's real important for the public to know, is there a memo going out to a department head? That should be preserved."

Historians said deleting the emails also hurts future generations who might want to study the Haley administration.

In a release Wednesday Department of Archives and History Director W. Eric Emerson said, “We are grateful that Governor Haley has asked the Department of Archives and History to create specific retention schedules for the Office of the Governor. The creation of these schedules is historic and marks the first time in the nearly forty-year history of the Public Records Act that a gubernatorial administration has allowed the Department of Archives and History to prepare specific retention schedules for their use."

Haley announced shortly before Christmas that her office was working to clarify what records should be kept.

The new policy requires email from the governor and executive staff to be preserved.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)