Office of Record Transfer Guide
Main Content
In compliance with the State Records Commission and the State Records Act implemented at SIUC in 1990, offices retain control of their vital records until such time as they are transferred to the University Archives for long-term storage. The documents become the property of the University Archives upon receipt.
The Office of Record (office sending the material to be placed in University Archives) may request access to University Archives files at any time by notifying archives staff of the materials needed and scheduling a research visit.
Future Access to Records
Once records have been transferred to the University Archives repository, they will be accessioned and inventoried, then processed and described for long-term access, and made available for viewing and research within the Special Collections Research Center Reading Room. Please call 618/453-2516 or email speccoll@lib.siu.edu to request access to materials and to schedule a visit. A staff member will be happy to assist you.
Temporary Restrictions
Files for which you request a temporary restriction on public access will not be released or referenced until the date designated. All requests for these materials will be denied in the interim unless they are accompanied by written permission from the Office of Record, on official office stationery. This can be done by fax from your location, if need be, as long as it is on your official office stationery. The fax number for Morris Library is 618/453-3440.
Box and Folder Suppliers
The University Archives recommends retaining a supply of
- lignin free(acid free) boxes and file folders, and
- file supports that allow file folders to stand upright inside for periodic transfers from your department/unit. Acid-free folders are of primary importance as they will directly envelop the delicate paper documents. If no acid-free materials are possible, please transfer the records in sturdy records storage boxes, of the cubic-foot size. For boxes, contact Records Management for suggestions. Please contact University Archives for further assistance with materials and purchasing, or visit one of these, or similar, supplier websites.
Gaylord: 800/448-6160; https://www.gaylord.com/
University Products: 800/532-9281; www.universityproducts.com
Hollinger Metal Edge: (800) 862-2228; www.hollingermetaledge.com
Brodart Library Supplies and Furnishings: (888) 820-4377; www.shopbrodart.com/URLTranslator.ashx?product=3107
Conservation Resources International: (800) 634-6932; www.conservationresources.com
Step-By-Step Guide to Transferring Records
The following is a step-by-step guide to help you in the transfer of your outdated office files. Some offices have a designated Records Manager, who acts as a liaison to the Special Collections Research Center, ordering a store of acid-free/lignin-free supplies for ongoing transfers, organizing the transport of boxes to the Archives, and retaining indexes of transferred materials.
Part A: Weeding
1. Go to recordsmgmt.siu.edu to find the Records Retention Schedule implemented by the University in 1990.
2. At the Micrographics homepage, under “Records Management Administration and Consulting,” you will see "Records Management Policy Manual,” followed by the words, “RETENTION SCHEDULE.” Scroll down the page from that point until you see an index; the first entry of which is, “87-61, Office of the Board of Trustees”.
Locate and select the administrative area under which your office is located. For example, if your office were in Student Development, you would look under the heading, 87-64, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat to read these files, as they all have a .pdf extension.
3. Read the recommendations for your specific office files and weed your files accordingly.
4. In addition, the Archives generally recommends weeding the following, but please do not hesitate to ask if you have questions about individual kinds of documents:
· Records of specific, routine, mundane financial transactions
· Routine notes: requests for insignificant materials and thank-you’s after materials were received.
· Non-personally addressed correspondence such as “To: Deans and Directors” mass memos that have come into your office files. (We save the copy that the writer sends, so we do not have to save all the received copies)
· Stacks of individual replies to mass-questionnaires, as long as the results are recorded and preserved either in the archives or a published report.
· Blank forms and unused printed or duplicated materials
· Duplicate material that does not contain special notes or markings that make it unique
Part B: Creating Box Inventories
5. Create a separate inventory (a Word document) for each box by typing the file folder heading of each file in the box, front-to-back, and listing them in that order. Please indicate on this inventory if any of the files contain sensitive material that should be temporarily restricted. This would apply to confidential files, grievance files, personal financial information, etc.
Please send the inventories as Microsoft Word attachments via e-mail to Library Specialist, Matt Gorzalski, at mgorzalski@lib.siu.edu. Please also place a paper copy of each inventory inside the box on top of the files to which it corresponds. Do not write on the outsides of the boxes, except to number them as described below, and do not tape them shut.
6. If you wish the boxes to stay in a given sequence, (if you have alphabetized or numerical files that carry over from one box to another) you may number in pencil on the side of the box, usually the right side, in the space provided for a box number. This number is the ONLY mark that should be placed on the box. Also, please indicate the correct box number in the titles of the inventories that you email to the university archivist. For example, if you have a box that you have marked with a pencil as "Box 1," the Word document that lists the corresponding files in that box should also be titled: "Box 1." The numbers may later be changed by Archives staff in processing, but you will receive by email updated copies of the finding aid inventories as processing occurs.
7. Type the date, office name, phone number, and the name of the person preparing the files for transport on a file folder label, and paste it in the lower left corner, at the back of each box.
Part C: Preparing for Transport via Campus Mail
8. Wet a piece of string, and tie around each box, so the lids do not come off in transit. When the string dries, it will hold the lid on tighter. This will keep the contents of the boxes from spilling out, if dropped. A note to Campus Mail with instructions on delivery of the box(es) can be taped under the string, thus avoiding any tape being applied to the box itself.
9. Call University Archives at 3-2516 to alert the staff that boxes are going to be delivered by Campus Mail. Tell the Archives staff how many boxes are to be delivered (10 boxes at a time, maximum).
10. Call Campus Mail (3-5348) to pick up your boxes. Have them deliver the boxes to the Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library, Attention: University Archivist, Room 134. We will inform you of their safe arrival. Campus Mail does business on a first-come, first-served basis and there will be a charge for bulk deliveries.
The Special Collections Research Center will email you the updated finding aids for your records, as they are processed.