Volume 3, Issue 2 Fall 2016 Issue FAQ — What’s the Difference between a Records Center and an Archives? Throughout my career I’ve found that there is often confusion about the difference between a records center and an archives. For example, many people have come to use the word “archiving” for many records management activities — some of which actually relate to a records center. So if you’re a little confused by the difference — or if you didn’t even realize there was a difference — you’re definitely not alone. Here at BGSU we have both a University Records Center and a University Archives. The University Archives is part of the Center for Archival Collections and is located on the 5th floor of the Jerome Library. It holds over one hundred separate collections of materials representing university administrative offices, academic colleges and departments, student organizations, and more. All of these materials are open to students, faculty, staff and members of the general public for research. Records are accepted into the University Archives because they are judged to have significant historical value and the intent is to keep and preserve them forever. Special acid-free boxes and folders are often used to help in their preservation. In addition, once records are in the Archives, it is the intent that they never leave the building again. Finally, it is the responsibility of the University Archives’ staff to prepare finding aids and other resources (such as box and folder lists) so our patrons know what records can be found in each box. Boxes line the shelves in the BGSU University Archives. Things are quite different at the University Records Center, which is located at another building on campus and is utilized by about 30 different offices and departments. First, most records stored there are being kept temporarily until their retention period is over and then they will be shredded. Second, the boxes may contain confidential information or information that is never intended to be made public. Because of this, access to the Records Center is strictly limited. In fact, the records stored there are never made available to anyone but the department that created them. And, unlike in the Archives, each department that stores records in the Records Center can request their records back at any time. This means that offices and departments sending boxes to the Records Center should keep detailed lists of those boxes and their contents. I hope this comparison has clarified some of the differences between an archives and a records center. If you have any questions about what sort of records can be sent to either the University Records Center or University Archives, or the procedures involved, please contact me at csauer@bgsu.edu or 2-9614. Have a question or topic you’d like to see addressed as an Issue FAQ? Please send it to csauer@bgsu.edu. How Do YOUR Boxes Stack Up? The ultimate fate of most records stored in the Records Center is that they will be destroyed. It may not be for 2 years, 5 years, or 20 years, but eventually, they will be thrown out (shredded actually). So what does it matter what sort of box they are sent to the Records Center in? A great deal actually. For one thing, there’s a good reason why you’re sending the records to the Records Center in the first place — there is a legal, administrative, or fiscal requirement that they be kept for a certain number of years. And it’s up to both you and me to make sure that they remain available and accessible up until the day they’re destroyed. I do my part by keeping a detailed inventory of exactly where each box is located in the Records Center, keeping track of destruction dates so nothing is destroyed prematurely or kept too long, and making sure the Records Center is as secure as possible. You can do your part by making sure the boxes you use are sturdy and well-labeled. A few helpful hints: If at all possible, send over full boxes. Nothing leads to a collapsing box more than being only partially full and having a heavier box on top of it. Don’t use oversized boxes (file drawer sized boxes) that get too heavy to hold the records that are in them and that rip and tear under the weight of what’s stored in them. Remember, if it’s too heavy for you to lift off the floor, it’s going to be too heavy for me to lift up 5 or more feet in the air on to an upper shelf. Use the same size boxes if at all possible. Boxes will collapse on each other if they are not uniform in shape and size. Depending on supplies available and quantity needed, the Records Center can provide you with a few one-cubic foot cartons or you can purchase them from Ohio Penal Industries. Look for product CP103 after selecting the “records” option. Label your box. Use the label available on the Records Center website and make it as detailed as possible. October 10th is Electronic Records Day How do you deal with electronic records? Print them out? Delete them? Ignore them? As tempting as that last option is, it’s not a solution. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with just how many electronic records there are, the variety of formats they come in, how easily they can be changed, and so many other reasons. I’ve recently completed training on dealing with archival electronic records, however, and have come to realize they aren’t as difficult to deal with as they can initially seem. One of the best practice is to start organizing them as soon as they are created; that way they don’t get out of hand. Here are some other important tips (borrowed from the Council of State Archivists (CoSA)) to keep in mind when dealing with electronic records and electronic communications such as e-mail. As CoSA notes, managing electronic records is like caring for a perpetual toddler: they need regular attention and care in order to remain accessible. Therefore: Organization is key: Know who is in charge of the shared file; question whether people are using email as a filing cabinet rather than a communication tool; know which copy is the record copy. Make rules: Naming conventions, file organization and disposition strategies help now and in the long term. Make the rules known and follow them. Think before you scan: Standards, worthiness, naming conventions, storage and retrieval (among other things) should be considered before you turn that scanner on for the most efficient and useful results. There are no permanent storage media. Hard drives, CDs, magnetic tape or any other storage formats will need to be tested and replaced on a regular schedule. Proactive management is required to avoid catastrophic loss of records. Content, not format is important. Just as you wouldn’t keep a letter on yellow paper longer than one on white paper just because of its color, you wouldn’t keep or destroy communication based solely on format. Whether a message is sent via email, text, social media or other means, the content of the message is what determines its value and retention. If public business is being conducted, it’s a record. Not all communications rise to the level of official record, but generally if you’re conducting official government business any related communication is a record. Public business on private accounts is still public and private accounts or personal devices are subject to public records laws if they are used to conduct public business. This helps ensure transparency in government and ensures accountability of public employees. Avoid combining public & private communications. In the event of a public records request or e-discovery request, someone may search through your correspondence. Keep personal and business communications separate if you wish to protect your privacy. Remember, managing electronic records is as important as keeping paper records organized, but can be more involved. Please contact me if you have questions about where to begin or if you’d like training on electronic records managment.