It is sometimes desirable to move inactive records not yet due for disposition from office to storage.The University does not have a centralized records center, although certain administrative areas do have space allocations, and others utilize commercial record storage facilities.The University Archives does not serve as a storage facility for inactive records.
The records storage area should be accessible, dry, and free from vermin.
Records to be placed in storage should be placed in order, folder by folder, in records cartons or transfiles.The boxes should be numbered in order and the contents of each box and the scheduled date of disposition should be clearly indicated on the outside.
"Charge out" cards should be used to indicate each time a folder is pulled for office use.These should record what has been pulled, by whom, and when, and should be inserted into the storage box in place of the pulled item(s) until the material is returned.
Microfilming offers several advantages as a medium for record storage: space savings, archival stability, legal acceptance, high image quality potential, vital record protection, and duplication for security storage off-site.Microfilm is a convenient storage medium for bulky records which require little weeding and which must be kept for extended periods, or for vital records which must be retained securely or indefinitely.However, microfilming is expensive, particularly in terms of document preparation.It is often less expensive to utilize low-cost storage.
Before contemplating microfilming, records must be inventoried and the specific series identified in order that the Department knows precisely what materials are on hand.The records must also be scheduled in order to determine how long they must be maintained and what will be their eventual disposition.
To analyze records for possible microform applications:
If the decision is to microfilm, an archival copy using silver gelatin film should be made and stored in an alternate location for security.Working copies should be made of diazo or vesicular film which, with proper care, should provide up to 100 years of useful life.
University machine-readable records, that is, records which are created and maintained in electronic form for administrative purposes, are subject to the same requirements for records management as are paper and microform records.They are inventoried, scheduled and disposed under the same procedures.
Magnetic Tape (Based on Geller, Sydney B. Care and Handling of Computer Magnetic Storage Media .National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 500-101.Washington, D.C.June 1983.)
Admissibility of Archived Computer Records
In the State of Ohio, computer records may be audited and may be admitted as evidence in a court of law much the same as with paper and microform media.
In order for electronic records to be legally acceptable, it must be possible to verify that:
Labeling Computer Files
Files which cannot be identified because of poor external and internal labeling are useless.
Systems vary in the options provided for labeling tapes, CDs, diskettes and other forms of media, but it is important to use every means available.In addition to labeling the outside of a diskette or tape, enter the date and if necessary, the time when a file was used.On the office automation or other mainframe system, enter password and terminal designation.
Make file names as recognizable as possible.On microcomputers, the optional extension characters may be used for file names to indicate the creator's initials or as mnemonics for the type of document, for example COR (correspondence), MEM (memoranda), BUD (budget).Store different record series on separate disks.If machine-readable files contain confidential materials, coded filenames discourage unauthorized access.Note: Not applicable after Windows 95 as extensions have meaning.
A written Departmental or office policy dealing with labeling computer files, as well as security and access considerations makes it easier to work with these records in the future, as well as to audit, if necessary, admit them in a court of law.
Electronic communications systems in use at the University include, but are not limited to, office automation, E-mail, and Internet facilities maintained by the C.I.T.S., and local area networks maintained within colleges and other administrative units of the University.
Electronic mail created and received by employees of the University of Cincinnati during the course of business is an official University record, and as such falls under the purview of the University Records Management Program.Additionally, the University's computing resources are limited physically and financially in the amount of online storage which can be provided to users with electronic mail accounts.For both of these reasons, the following guidelines are important in ensuring effective, efficient and legal retention and disposition of electronic mail.
