records management and the center for folklife and cultural heritage presented by jennifer wright...
TRANSCRIPT
Records Management and the Center for Folklife and
Cultural Heritage
Presented by
Jennifer Wright
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Records Management Team
February 14, 2005
Goals of the Presentation
Introduce the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) and its Records Management Services
Discuss the Appraisal Process and the General Records Disposition Schedule
Describe the Processes for Discarding, Transferring, and Retrieving Records
Answer Questions
SIA’s Mission Appraise, acquire and preserve records of
the Institution Establish policies and provide guidance for
management of the National Collections Offer a range of reference, research, and
records services Create products and services which promote
understanding of the Smithsonian and its history
SIA’s Authority – SD 501 “All documents created or received by
employees of SI in the course of official business are records of the Institution, and none may be disposed of except in accord [with guidelines] established by the Smithsonian Archives.”
Records Management Services Help identify what to keep and what to discard Create disposition schedules Assist you in organizing your records – advice and
file plans Supply boxes and do the physical transfer of
records Maintain and care for records Provide access to the records Destroy records according to established
schedules
Advantages of Records Management Faster retrieval of documents Reduced/eliminated level of record-keeping
redundancies Reduced costs of storage equipment and
supplies Elimination of unnecessary files storage Increased usable space
What is a Record? Any official recorded information,
regardless of medium or characteristics, created, received, and maintained by a Smithsonian museum, office, or employee
What Do Records Do? Document actions, decisions, policies and
procedures Legal evidence Audit trail Accountability Corporate memory
What Do Records Look Like? Records may be located in filing cabinets, storage
rooms, servers, or electronic media They may include:
– Paper– Electronic Records– Film and Video– Audio Recordings– E-mail– Spreadsheets and Databases– Photographs
Appraising Records
Decisions about which records to keep or discard are based upon:– Function of the office
– Which records best document that function
– Where the most complete set of those records are located
– Existing guidelines established by SIA, other SI offices, or outside institutions
An office should always contact SIA for an appraisal decision unless they have previously been provided with guidance
Two Broad Categories of Records
Institutional Records General and Routine Administrative and
Informational Records
Institutional Records Institutional records document how an office functions
and develops over time Often relate to the office’s mission, goals, planning
activities, funding, and major initiatives May include reports, correspondence, memoranda,
planning documents, budget records, grant records, and certain types of programmatic records
Permanent institutional records best document the history and functions of an office
Consult with SIA to determine if institutional records are permanent
Permanent Records should be sent to SIA
Programmatic Records
Subset of institutional records that document specific programs and projects within the office at a detailed level
May relate to festivals, exhibitions, publications, recordings, collections, and other activities
May include correspondence, memoranda, scripts, catalogs, agreements, floorplans/site maps, teacher/press packets, press clippings, brochures, photographs, draft materials, working files, publication galleys, logistical materials, and research/informational files
Programmatic Records (continued)
Temporary programmatic records should be weeded from the permanent records when no longer useful to staff– These include draft materials, working files, publications
galleys, logistical materials (travel files, vendor information, delivery and setup time tables, etc.), and files used solely for research and general informational purposes
Permanent programmatic records may be sent to SI Archives or maintained on-site depending on how often the files are used and how integral they are to the understanding of the collections
Administrative and Informational Records Administrative records document the day to day
activities of the office– Pertain to accounting, contracts, payroll, personnel,
training, travel, and standard forms
– Administrative Records are temporary records that often must be maintained for a period of time to meet administrative, fiscal, or legal obligations
– In many cases, another SI office maintains the original documents for the full period of time and individual offices are responsible for maintaining their copies for a shorter period of time
Administrative and Informational Records (continued) Informational Records
– Documents created by another SI Office or outside of SI that an office obtains for informational or research purposes
– May include photocopies, articles, vendor packets, examples of work done elsewhere, widely used standards or guidelines, equipment manuals, general distribution memoranda, the Torch, the Blue Bulletin, and SI Announcements
– All informational files are temporary records that can be discarded when or administrative need no longer exists
General Records Disposition Schedule Still a draft, but the guidance is unlikely to
change Covers records common to most offices
within the Smithsonian Gives guidance about the disposition of
inactive records Call SIA to inquire about records not found
on the general records disposition schedule
Discarding Records
Three methods for discarding records– Discard/Destroy on-site– Transfer to SIA’s Records Center to be
destroyed– Send directly to a shredding or recycling
company (best option for large numbers of records – SIA can direct you to a free service)
“Destroy” in the guidance means shred or otherwise obliterate sensitive information
Records Transfer
Call SIA with the types of records to be transferred and the number of boxes you will require
Transfer records from filing cabinets to boxes, removing all hanging folders and binders
Number the boxes and create a list of folder titles in each box
E-mail the folder list to SIA and schedule a records pickup
Records Retrieval After the records transfer, SIA will provide you
with the accession number and a copy of the folder list and will place another copy on the SIA website with full-text search.
To retrieve records, simply contact SIA. Records stored on-site can be retrieved
immediately. Records stored off-site will be retrieved once per week.
Records may be used in the SIA Reading Room or charged-out for extended use.
Records Center Records Center materials should be prepared,
transferred, and retrieved in the same manner as permanent records.
At transfer, a destruction date will be assigned based on the general records disposition schedule.
SIA will ensure the timely destruction of records. Destruction will be suspended pending
investigations or legal actions that might bear upon the records.
Contact Information and Resources General questions and records transfers: contact
Jennifer Wright, 357-1421 ext. 37, [email protected], or Mitch Toda, 357-1421 ext. 11, [email protected]
Reference Services: e-mail [email protected] or call 357-1420
SI Archives Website: http://siarchives.si.edu Records Management on the Web: http://
siarchives.si.edu/records/main.html