Records: Procedures & Services

• How to Send Records to the Archives for Temporary or Permanent Storage
• Advice & Assistance
• Selecting Records
• Scheduling Records
• Transferring Records
• Retrieving Records
• Destroying Records

Advice & Assistance

Contact the Archivist with questions relating to archives and records:

• email: archives@lanecc.edu
• telephone: (541) 463-5466
• main campus location: Center Building, Rooms 18-19-20
  

Selecting Records

Records (and the information they contain) are evaluated or appraised in order to determine how useful they are now and how valuable they will be in the future. The college archivist assists departments in evaluating records and selecting appropriate records for transfer to the Archives. 

Selection Criteria: Records are selected for transfer to the Archives, either on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the following criteria;

• Records document the administrative, legal, and financial functions and activities of the college.
• Records have long-term or historical value because they contain information of historical interest to the creating department, the college, the community, and to future researchers.  
• Federal requirements.
• Oregon statutes and administrative rules.
• LCC policy and the needs of the creators of the records.
• Best business practices and professional standards.
• Other criteria such as size, frequency of use, cost of storage and preservation, physical condition, and the format of the records.
• These types of questions are often asked when deciding on retention periods:
• How often do I need to refer to the records? 
• What would be the consequences if the records no longer existed?
• Is access to the records restricted by confidentiality and privacy concerns? 
• Do the records exist in another form (paper, electronic, microfilm)?
• What effect will the format of the records have on the long-term accessibility and preservation of the records or information? Will electronic records remain accessible despite changes in hardware and software?
  

Scheduling Records

Records retention schedule: A records retention schedule describes records and specifies how long they must be kept and when they can be destroyed.

The Oregon State Archivist has the responsibility to authorize destruction of public records and has developed a general records retention schedule OAR 166-450 for all community colleges in Oregon .

Procedures:

• Refer to Lane's Records Retention Schedule on the Archives web site at: Records Retention & Disposition Schedule: Using the Schedule
• Refer to the Archives webpage for details about Lane's Records Retention & Disposition Schedule at: Records Retention & Dispositon Schedule: Understanding the Schedule
• Consult with the Archivist for assistance in applying the schedule and implementing the retention and disposition options. 
• Contact the Archivist if certain records are not included in the schedule or if the specified retention period seems inappropriate.
  
  
  

Transferring Records to the Archives

Records Center :  The Archives maintains a Records Center for the temporary storage of non-permanent, inactive records and for the permanent storage of records with long-term, historical value.

Legal custody:   For temporary records, legal custody of the records remains with the department or office that created the records.  For permanent records, legal custody of the records is transferred to the Archives.

Access: For temporary records, access to the information in the records is limited to the staff of the originating department and the Archives staff. For permanent records, once they are processed, records are open to the college community and other patrons for research. 

Criteria for transfer to the Archives: In order to qualify for storage by the Archives, the records:

• must be inactive (no longer required by the creating department to carry on its current activities and business),
• must be the official copy of the records,
• must have at least two years remaining on the scheduled retention period, and
• will ultimately be destroyed or permanently transferred to the college Archives.

Procedures:

Record storage boxes: All records must be transferred in standard record storage boxes. This provides for maximum efficiency and makes the best use of available shelf space. Each box holds one cubic foot of material; that is, approximately 15" of records in leter file folders or 12" of records in legal file folders. One file drawer of letter-sized files fill up about two record boxes.

Record storage boxes are furnished by the Archives. Boxes may be picked up from the Archives or the archivist will deliver boxes to the requesting office. Records storage boxes provided by the Archives may only be used for storing records in the Archives and may not be used for office or personal storage. 

Preparing records for storage:  

• Transfer records in the same folders in which they were filed in your filing cabinets.
• Remove records from hanging files and place the records in file folders.
• Remove records from 3-ring notebooks and place the records in file folders.
• Remove all rubber bands.  Do not remove staples or paper clips.
• Label every folder identifying the contents of the folder.
• Place all folders vertically in the box facing in the same direction so that the labels can be easily read. 
• Place the records in the box in the same order as they were arranged in the filing cabinet.
• Remove all records that are not the record or official copy as outlined in the retention schedule.
• Remove duplicate and unnecessary records.
• Put only one series or type of record in a box. Records from different series may be stored in the same box if they have identical retention periods. Boxes containing records with mixed retention periods will not be accepted for storage.
• Do not overstuff the boxes. Allow about 1.5" of empty space in each box for easy retrieval and refiling.
• If the records do not fill the box, make a spacer from used cardboard to keep the folders from flopping over or sagging.
• Consult the archivist about those records which are too large to fit into a standard records storage box.
• Do not store photographs, negatives, video tapes, audio tapes, computer tapes or disks, or other records in non-paper formats together with paper records.

Labels:   Temporarily mark the boxes on the upper left corner of the front of the box with an abbreviation for the department and the box number.  The Archives staff will prepare permanent labels once the boxes arrive in the Archives.

Forms:  All records transferred to the Archives must be accompanied by a Transmittal Form and Contents List.

• Transmittal Form:   A Transmittal Form documents the accession or transfer of records from the creating department to the Archives.  
• Contents List:  A Contents List is a complete and accurate inventory of the contents of each box of records.  The inventory must be detailed enough to enable the Archivist to find a file when you ask to retrieve it later.
  
  
  

Retrieving Records

Departments or offices that have stored records in the Archives may need to recall a file or group of files from storage.

• Files may be retrieved temporarily and later returned to storage.
• Files may be permanently removed from storage and returned to the physical custody of the creating department or office .

Authority to request records : Because legal custody of the records temporarily stored in the Archives remains with the office or department that created the records, access to records in storage is limited to the creating department or the Archives staff. Retrieval requests from other departments or persons will be referred to the creating department for authorization.

Delivery: Under normal conditions, the Archives staff will retrieve and deliver records within two days. If there is a special urgency, the Archives staff will make arrangements for quick retrieval and delivery. Campus mail or the courier service is used to deliver records to the Downtown Center or airport in Eugene , Cottage Grove , Florence , or other locations. 

Procedures:

• Contact the Archives by telephone (463-5466) or by e-mail (Archives@lanecc.edu) to request records.
• Refer to the Transmittal Form / Contents List and give the archivist the following information:   
• Department or office name
• Series title
• Description of records to be retrieved (folder label, file name, file number)
• Accession number
• Box number
• The Archives staff will deliver the records to the requesting department.
• Contact the Archives staff to return the records to storage.
• There is no need to notify the Archives if a department decides not to return a file to storage.
  
  

Destroying Records

Criteria: Records are ready for destruction if they have met the legally required retention as defined by the Records Retention Schedule, and they are not involved in any ongoing audit, litigation, or administrative action. 

Destruction date: The destruction date is determined at the time the records are transferred to storage in the Archives and is calculated according to the Records Retention Schedule. 

Authority to destroy records:  The Archives will ask the creating department or office to authorize destruction of records when the retention period has been satisfied.  The department should carefully review the authorization to make sure the records are no longer needed for audit, legal, administrative, or research purposes.

Confidentiality: Many college records contain information that is confidential and exempt from public disclosure and therefore requires special handling. OAR 166-30 -060(2) states that "Records which are confidential by law ... must be destroyed by shredding, pulping, or incineration" and outlines specific guidelines designed to insure the confidential destruction of records.

The Archives arranges for the destruction of records which insures that confidentiality is protected from the time the records leave storage until the time they are destroyed. When appropriate, "Confidential Destruction" notations are indicated in the disposition statement of the Record Retention Schedule.

For information about student and employee information which must remain confidential, see the "Access and Confidentiality" section below.

Non-record Material:  Non-record materials are records which are not the official copy. They may be destroyed without reference to the provisions of the records retention schedule. Non-record material which is confidential must be shredded, pulped, or incinerated. If records are not confidential, they may be recycled or disposed of as trash.

Procedures:

• Prior to the destruction date, the Archives sends a Records Destruction Authorization Form to the creating department informing them that the records have satisfied the retention period and are ready for destruction.
• The department signs and dates the Records Destruction Form and returns it to the Archives.
• The Archives arranges destruction of the records and notifies the department when the confidential destruction has been completed. 
• If records are involved in an audit, litigation, or ongoing administrative action, the department returns the unsigned Records Destruction Authorization form to the Archives with an explanation, and the retention period is extended.
• Records that have met their retention requirement and are scheduled for destruction will be returned to the creating department if the department does not sign and return the authorization form and no special arrangements have been made for extending the retention period.