RM FAQ

A great first step in records management is creating a records inventory. A records inventory is the process of surveying the records in your office to understand what you have and where it is. This is typically done at the series level, so you don't have to identify each record.  A records series is a group of logically-related records that support a specific business or administrative operation (ex. personnel file, annual reports, budget working papers). 

An inventory helps to determine what records you create and/or have and where they are stored. It is useful in setting up a records retention schedule or file system and can identify records management issues that need addressed. A records inventory should in include: a record series title, description, format, location, use/access, presence of sensitive information, and the disposition.

We are also happy to visit and talk about your records and help you identify what records need to be maintained and what you can destroy. Learn more at https://libraries.indiana.edu/recordsmgmt or reach out for a consultation request. 

Once we’ve identified records, we look at their values to determine the retention, or length of time we should keep them. Keep in mind that records can have more than one value. In that case you would keep them the longest of the values.

Administrative or Operational Value is the value to the office of origin. They aid in the day-to day business, define policy and procedures, or ensure consistency and continuity. These are the records you need to do your job. Consider if work would be in jeopardy without them. How long do you need to keep them to do your work? This value will apply to things like directives, policies, procedures, org charts, general correspondence, minutes, and personnel records.

Records with Fiscal Value provide evidence of financial transaction and expenditure of funds. The retention may be based on audit or tax needs and these records may be required for audits. This value will apply to things like financial audit reports, accounting journals and ledgers, tax receipts, annual budget docs, and payroll.

Legal (Regulatory) Value can be found in records that document and protect the rights and interests of an individual or organization, provide for prosecution or defense of litigation, demonstrate compliance with laws and regulations, or other legal needs. The retention of these records may be based on statute of limitations and might contracts, titles, claims, and deeds.

Historical (research/archival) value is applied to records that are useful or significant for documenting and understanding the past.  They contain authentic evidence of organization’s policies, decisions, operations, and other activities that should be retained. They have a secondary values beyond primary (administrative, fiscal, legal). Records might include minutes, correspondence, reports, and publications.

A records retention schedule is a list of records series maintained by all or part of an organization and how long each series is to be kept (retention). A record series is a group of logically related records that support a specific business or administrative activity. Records are grouped on the records schedule and assigned a retention period. The schedule also lists office of record, official medium, and governing policies or regulations. You might also hear this called a records retention and disposition schedule or some combination of those words. IU's schedule is established through UA-18 and managed by the University Records Retention and Disposition Committee (URRDC).

A record series is a group of logically related records that support a specific business or administrative activity. Records are grouped on the records schedule and assigned a retention period. These record series can also work well for your office folder structure to track you records and dispose of them based on their retention periods. You might have records series for invoices, contracts, publications, and personnel files. You would then store these record series separately based on their retention periods.

Archival value may also be referred to as historical or research value. Records with this value are useful or significant for documenting and understanding the past. They contain authentic evidence of an organization’s policies, decisions, operations, and other activities that should be retained. These records also have a secondary value beyond their primary (administrative, fiscal, legal) value. Correspondence has a primary value in conveying a message, but it may continue to have a secondary value in documenting an event or moment in time. There are some records that may need to be kept permanently for their administrative, fiscal, or legal value, but may not have archival value. When appraising records for archival value, we often look at if a record can be made accessible and how it might be used by researchers now and in the future.

Send an email to archives@iu.edu or call us at (812) 855-6564 and we can talk about your records and what can be transferred. We can also meet virtually and view electronic records or we can set up an office visit to look at physical records  on-site. 

The IU Archives can provide records boxes to transfer files. Records should be packed in the order in which they were kept in the office. Folders should be labeled with a folder title and inclusive dates. Each box should include a box number in pencil. An inventory of the files in each box should be sent to the IU Archives. This  enables us to efficiently locate files for reference and eventual processing. The inventory can be attached to the completed transmittal form, which should be submitted to the Archives. Once the boxes are ready, contact us and we can arrange for the records to be picked up. From there records will receive a unique accession number and an accession record in our database before being barcoded and transferred to the Auxiliary Library Facility, where they can be delivered to the Archives as needed.
 

For born-digital records, we have been setting up transfers via Teams. Some records that you unit creates may also be good candidates for the Archives of Institutional Memory (AIM), our digital repository. Reach out about your electronic records and we can discuss the best course of action.
 

To learn more, review general procedures for transferring university records to the Archives and what to send.  

Maybe not. First you'll want to check the records retention schedule to determine the official medium of the record in question. You'll also want to review any relevant laws, regulations, and policies to see if there are any legal requirements for retaining paper. Also consider any requirements for an audit or expected/ongoing litigation. You need to ensure that the records are accessible for their full retention period. Electronic records require monitoring to ensure they remain accessible, so make sure you plan for that if they need to be kept for more than 5-10 years.

It depends, but probably not. While there may be exceptions, plaques or trophies tend to have very little research or long-term historical value and need not be transferred to the Archives. If the plaque lists several award winners, you could transcribe the recipients and transfer that list for our reference files. The surplus store may be able to take the actual plaques and trophies and others can repurpose them.

Start with your campus archives, usually located within the library. Archivists can help you to assess the historical value of the records and if they should be transferred for preservation. For non-historical records you can reach out to IU Records Management and we can help you either find the records on the records schedule or work to add a new records series to make sure they're covered.

If you are using the schedule database in the simple view, you might not see the full picture. Above the options for export there is a little button you can check for advanced view. When you expand to the advanced view, there are columns for the “Office of Record” and “Can Units Retain Copies?” The office of record is the office responsible for maintaining the official copy of the record and handles the disposition. For example, Academic Affairs would be the office to transfer Faculty Annual Reports to the Archives. The Faculty Annual Reports record series also says that units (academic departments) may retain the records may retain the records for up to two years post termination. Not every record series says that units may retain copies, so typically the disposition would just be for the office of record.

Absolutely! Electronic records are vulnerable to hardware and software failure. We also need to have a plan in place for when we can't access electronic records due to power failure. Unauthorized access, computer viruses, and ransomware are all threats that need systems and training to mitigate the risks. Learn more about information security at IU and IT Disaster Recovery Plans. 

Please let us know about any possible creepy crawly activity in advance of sending records to us. There are many insects that would like to make a delicious meal of paper and other archival materials. These are scary bugs! We also don't like bug bites when going through papers! We'll need to determine the best course of action for handling the records based on the insect activity. If the records have been stored in less than ideal storage environments (warehouses, attics, basements), we may want to freeze the records in the book freezers at the Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) to ensure insects are eradicated before being introduced to the rest of the collection. You can help limit bug activity by storing records in a cool and dry environment and limiting food sources around records. Food consumption should be confined to staff lounge and trash should be emptied from offices regularly. To learn more about preventing pests from devouring our history, check out  this guide from the Northeast Document Conservation Center.

Personal papers are records created and/or maintained by an individual. This is in contrast to university records which are created, received, or maintained by Indiana University or its employees or agents pursuant to legal obligations or in pursuit of the University's mission.

At IU personal papers may be created by faculty or staff for personal or professional use. These could be materials that are created or collected for most teaching, outside service, or professional development activities and are generally not governed by university policies. Examples might include lecture notes, correspondence with colleagues within and outside IU about research and service, presentations made at professional conferences, and publications. Although they are not university records, your campus archives may be interested in collecting such materials to help further document the university’s people and activities.

Papers commonly transferred to the University Archives include, but are not limited to, correspondence files, unofficial departmental and committee files, research files, course materials, and diaries and journals. 
 

Transitory records are typically created or received to pass along information of very temporary value. They don't set policy, establish guidelines or procedures, certify a transaction, or serve as evidence or receipt. These records can be destroyed once they no longer have administrative value. It is important to dispose of records once the retention period expires in order to minimize risk to the University as well as reduce administrative overhead for your office. 
 

Yes! While we don't have regularly scheduled webinars, we are always happy to do a training that will meet your needs. This could be talking about records in a staff meeting or a webinar. Just reach out to archives@iu.edu and we can get something set up! For on-demand training we also have a canvas training available.