GUIDELINES FOR CENTRAL RESOURCE FILING

Units can utilize filing space more efficiently by eliminating duplicate filing of some kinds of general records. Each unit is encouraged to set up a central resource file to relieve individual offices of the need to maintain separate files which may duplicate each other.The frequency with which records are used determines the need for their proximity to the user. Records which are used daily should be in a drawer of the workstation or desk, while those that are needed weekly or monthly can be kept in filing cabinets in the office. Records that are referred to only two to six times a year, particularly those of a resource nature, can be most efficiently maintained in the units central resource file. When records reach the stage where they are not needed for reference more than once a year, they should be transferred to the Archives and Records Center.The following is a suggested list of types of general records that could be included in a unit central resource file:

1. Minutes of committees that more than one on the staff are members of.
2. Newsletters and other publications from organizations of common interest.
3. Miscellaneous reports of finances, statistics, or other types.
4. Publications of the unit.
5. Resource material that could be useful to more than one staff member.
6. Bulletins, publications, and other routine materials from other Andrews University units.
7. Catalogs produced by or related to the unit.
8. Staff itinerary and conference reports.
9. Computer users' manuals.
10. Other items unique to the unit. Instead of having these types of records coming to every office in the unit, both money and space, as well as filing time, could be saved if each unit received one copy for its central resource file and another copy to be circulated. The circulating copy could be stamped with the unit name to remind users that it is not their personal copy.


GUIDELINES FOR AN ENTITY/UNIT RECORDS COORDINATOR

Each department, office, center, or service, hereafter called a unit, must have an appointed records coordinator who works closely with the Archives and Records Center staff. This is generally the duty of the respective administrative secretary. The responsibilities of the records coordinator is as follows:

1. Once a year (shortly after the first of the year) check to see that every office in the unit has transferred to the Records Center:
    1.1 the oldest year of correspondence,
    1.2 the oldest year of minutes,
    and 1.3 all printed or duplicated items produced during the year.

2. Maintain a file of duplicate accession records for reference when departmental records need to be retrieved from the Records Center.

3. Keep the unit head aware of interaction between unit and Archives and Records Management program.

4. Educate other unit staff members regarding Archives and Records Center procedures and policies, including standard filing methods.

5. Periodically furnish the Records Center with a current description of the functions of each office in the unit. With the increased reliance on non-paper records the process of creating records has in some ways become as important as the records themselves. It will be necessary for records coordinators to work with the Records Center to:
    5.1 maintain a list of record series used in the department,
    5.2 keep the retention schedule up to date,
    and 5.3 list the procedures for protecting vital records and producing and maintaining office records.

6. Arrange or assist with retrievals from the Records Center.

7. Provide authorization for the destruction of those records of the unit, stored in the Records Center, that do not need to be kept permanently.

8. Work with the Archives and Records Center staff in solving problems relating to filing, discarding, and preservation.

9. Assist in the smooth transfer of records between staff moving in and out of the unit.


GUIDELINES FOR A RECOMMENDED FILING SYSTEM

The Records Center accepts "electronic records" (records in machine-readable form) as well as paper records. For the best results in retrieving electronic records file them in directories in the same way you would file your paper records.

1. File distinct series or types of records separately. For example:
• file correspondence in one drawer, directory, or alphabetized section;
• minutes in another;
• financial records in a third; and
• reference or subject files in a fourth.
Each of these series will have a different "life cycle" or retention period in your office. Having distinct series will make it easier to pull out those series ready to be sent to the Records Center or destroyed.

2. At the beginning of each year, start new files for correspondence, minutes, and other annual records, transferring the past year's files to another drawer and removing the oldest year's files to be transferred to the Records Center. For electronic records, copy your yearly correspondence to floppy disks (3.5 inch, 1.44 MB disks are preferable) and send the disks to the Records Center. Please send your records to the Records Center in ONLY one form. Do not send both paper and electronic records. We will keep only one set of records, preferably a paper version.

3. File organizational correspondence by organization, not by the correspondent's name. File personal letters by the correspondent's name.

4. Different types of correspondence–institutional, departmental, non-workers–can be filed in one large alphabet. Each type can be easily differentiated by using different color tabs and tab positions. For example, correspondence with other educational institutions could be filed using pink tabs in the center of the drawer. Next to these could be Andrews University departments using blue tabs. On the left could be miscellaneous correspondence using alphabet tabs, and so forth. A similar effect can be achieved by using directories and subdirectories in your word processing program. See pages 9 and 10.

5. If an item is temporary, mark it for later destruction upon receipt or filing. This can be done by using some type of stamping device or other type of flag. Do not put yourself in the position of having to separate "permanent" records from "ephemeral" or temporary records at some future time, when you or someone else will have to restudy the whole file. Separate or mark each record at the time it is produced or filed, while it is still fresh in your mind. Because of the rather cryptic file names that some word processing programs use it is easier and less time consuming to file "temporary" records in a separate directory. If you have not already done this and the temporary files are small, it is more efficient to send all your electronic files to the Records Center.

6. Certain records, such as correspondence or minutes, can be transferred to the Records Center after only a couple of years. Subject or reference files should not be transferred until the topic is no longer current and the folder is not needed for reference. File record series with annual cutoff dates separately from those with indefinite cut-offs. This will minimize or eliminate sorting and revamping files at the time some records are transferred to the Records Center. Since electronic records such as correspondence are copied to a disk and the original file remains on your hard drive, you can send the disk(s) containing the "archived" copy of your correspondence to the Records Center after the first of the year. When it is no longer necessary to frequently refer to the older correspondence it may be deleted from your hard drive. DO NOT delete older correspondence without first establishing that a backup or "archived" copy exists. The Records Center must have certain information in order to be able to retrieve your electronic files. We must know the office of origin, the format of the file (i.e. WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, etc.; we recommend saving files in their original or "native" format), and the date the file(s) was created. Much of this information can be contained in an index right on the floppy disk (see page 10). You can create a file tree such as the one on page 10 by typing A:tree/F > A:index.txt. To print that file, type A:copy index.txt prn.

7. Hanging folders are an efficient and appropriate way to file records in your office. However, when sending files to the Records Center their contents MUST BE TRANSFERRED TO MANILA FOLDERS (accordion folders or "file pockets" are acceptable for large files) that are clearly labeled with a ball-point pen (other markers may run or bleed). Stick on labels are not permanent and will come off in a few years and should not be used for records kept more than a few years. Files received in hanging folders WILL be returned.


GUIDELINES FOR WEEDING ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS

All duplicate copies, masters, and supplies should be eliminated from the files after first making sure a good copy of records remain. The following items are usually without value and can be discarded once their useful life is past:
Announcements (keep announcements in form of a program if generated by your entity)
Applications (except admissions and employees)
Appointments, letters and memos setting up appointments
Ballots (be sure to keep record of final vote)
Budget draft papers (keep the final copy)
Checks, canceled
Class materials: textbooks, workbooks, handouts, etc., but keep syllabi and course outlines
Copies of widely circulated documents, including e-mail: agendas, lists, minutes, manuals, reports, and memoranda, unless
    your office is the office of origin
Copy or final draft for publication (programs, calendars, reports, etc.—after publication)
Covering letters and memos
Directives and instructions received
Drafts—once the final paper, report, program, budget, publication, etc. has been issued or published.
     Note exceptions: Those drafts which could add significant insight into the creators thought processes as he/she
    worked on the material, especially speeches, addresses. Major planning documents, save preliminary discussion
    documents, background reports, and drafts which contain substantive differences from the final version.
Financial records, routine and interim—a year old: cash receipt, delivery slips, purchase orders, requisitions, invoices,
    statements of telephone calls, etc.
Forms, blank (send 2 copies to the archives)
Invitations and notices
Invoices after payment
Letters and memos setting up appointments
Memoranda asking for comments (after comments have been received)
Multiple copies of a single original document—keep only two for the archives
Off-campus periodicals and publications, e.g. catalogs, newsletters, bulletins, reports, manuals, magazines, books, etc.
     Note: unless there is a clear connection of them with the officer of the entity.
Orders, financial: textbooks, teaching materials, office supplies, etc.
Payroll deductions, authorizations and notices, time cards
Proofs for publication (after publication—see also Draft)
Property/equipment inventories and related forms (including releases)
Routine acknowledgments, circulars, notifications, requests, reminders
Receipts
Releases
Reservations and Confirmations for meetings, travel, etc.


GUIDELINES FOR THE KIND OF ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS TO BE RETAINED
AND TRANSFERRED TO THE ARCHIVES

The following types of records generated in an office or entity should be maintained and kept for possible transfers to the AUARC: produced or collected published materials, unpublished materials, audiovisual materials, and data processing records.

Published Materials (produced or collected)
     books
     brochures/leaflets
     bulletins
     manuals
     periodicals
     promotional items

Unpublished Materials (produced or collected)
     case or reference files
     correspondence
     dissertations and study papers
     financial records
     histories
     itinerary and conference reports and other kinds of reports
     minutes
     planning records
     subject or topical files
     syllabi and related records
     student files

Audiovisual Materials (produced or collected)
     slides
     photographs
     sound recordings–cassette, reel to reel, etc.
     motion pictures
     filmstrips
     overhead projector transparencies
     phonograph records
     video recordings
     laser disks
     CD's

Data Processing Records
     floppy disks
     magnetic tapes
     CDs and DVDs

This list is not meant to be all inclusive, but it gives an idea of the types of records that the University would like to see preserved in the AUARC.


GUIDELINES FOR PRODUCING, FILING, AND TRANSFERRING COMMITTEE MINUTES

Producing Minutes:
1. Always be consistent in using the official name for your committee.
     Do write: Education Textbook Planning Committee
     Do not write: Textbook Planning Committee
                              Off-Campus Textbook Planning Committee
                              Instructional Materials Planning Committee
                              Committee on Educational Textbooks.
Although you may be aware that these are all the same committee, someone else may not be sure. In the Archives, committee minutes are arranged alphabetically. In the above example, the same committee might incorrectly appear under T, O, I, or C.

2. Ad hoc committee minutes should show to what standing committee, department, or administrative group they report.

3. Always follow the same format.
     When you are away for vacation, etc., leave a sample copy if your replacement will have to type minutes for you.

4. Use some type of consecutive numbering.
     Purpose: To help verify the completeness of a set of minutes. This can be done in any or all of the following ways:
     Consecutive page numbers, starting over with page one each year or continuing indefinitely.
     Consecutive actions, including the year (88-01, 88-02, etc.) and perhaps the committee initials (AHC 88-01).
     Consecutively numbered meetings (Fifty-first Meeting of the Adventist Heritage Center Committee), although this will not indicate any missing pages.

Filing Minutes:
1. File all minutes in a separate drawer or section of drawer. Minutes should not be filed with correspondence or topical files.

2. Do not file minutes of related committees in the same folder. For example, if a committee has several subcommittees, the minutes for each subcommittee should be in a separate, appropriately labeled, manila folder, but they could all be in the same hanging folder with the main committee.

3. Minutes of different boards and committees should not all be filed together in a single folder. Institutions usually have a number of different committees, the minutes of which should be kept separate. Andrews University, for example, produces the following separate series of minutes:
     Andrews University Board of Trustees
     Academic Affairs Subcommittee of Andrews University Board of Trustees
     Audit Committee of Andrews University Board of Trustees
     Andrews University Executive Committee
     Andrews University President's Committee
     Andrews University Constituency Meeting

4. File minutes and corresponding support documents for each meeting chronologically, from the front, with the most recent minutes at the back. Sometimes important support documentation comes attached to the agenda. The agenda can be discarded, but attached support documentation should be filed following the corresponding minutes.

5. Related correspondence and other miscellaneous materials may be filed with minutes but should be kept in separate folders. Routine notices of committee meetings, agendas, or insignificant letters accompanying minutes when they are sent can be discarded.
    
Transferring Minutes:
1. If you produce minutes for a committee, please file an extra set and send it to the Archives and Records Center at the end of each year, when you send other annual records, such as correspondence.

2. Your official set of minutes, containing corrections and backup materials, should be transferred to the Archives and Records Center when you no longer need them for frequent reference, usually after five or six years.

3. Minutes not produced by you should all be transferred to the Archives and Records Center when no longer needed for frequent reference, usually after two or three years.


GUIDELINES FOR PRESERVING FACULTY AND STAFF PAPERS: Documenting the Career of Faculty and Staff

To document the career of Andrews University faculty, staff, and alumni the following types of records are sought and transferred directly to the Adventist Heritage Center where they will be administered and their use be governed by its existing policies and procedures.

1. Biographical material: including diaries, biographical and autobiographical sketches, memoirs, chronologies, genealogies, resumes, vitae, newspaper clippings.

2. Correspondence:
     2.1 Official: outgoing and incoming letters and memoranda generated in the course of conducting university business.
     Note: These may just be cross-referenced from other files in the AUARC since they will be part of an other administrative record group.
     2.2 Professional: outgoing and incoming letters relating to career activities including correspondence with publishers, professional organizations, colleagues and students.
     2.3 Personal: letters with friends and relatives.

3. Classroom material: including course outlines, syllabi, reading lists, lecture notes, student papers, examination, and evaluations.

4. Committee and Departmental records: only when served as chair or a primary drafter of the records.
Note: These may just be cross-referenced from other files in the AUARC since they will be part of an other administrative record group.

5. Research materials/files: including notebooks and journals, research designs, outlines, raw data, analyses, and reports of findings.

6. Published Reviews, Articles, Monographs, Speeches, and Books: this should include also drafts and manuscripts of monographs and books.

7. Audiovisual material: including speeches, discussions, lecturers, interviews, example of creative work, videotapes, motion pictures, web programs.

8. Photographs: prints, negatives, and slides (all with detailed identifying information).

9. Memorabilia and Realia: Faculty, staff, and alumni papers are generally open records unless specified by their creator or donor as closed and/or open records with certain restrictions. Access to files of materials listed under sections 2.1 and 4 are subject to existing policies and procedures of the AUARC.


GUIDELINES FOR TRANSFERRING RECORDS TO THE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS CENTER

Timing of Transfer
1. Published or duplicated items: Develop a procedure for saving a sample of ALL items as they are produced and send them to Archives at the end of each year.

2. Annual files: The records retention schedule will indicate when records subject to annual cutoff, such as correspondence or minutes, should be transferred to the Archives and Records Center. Transfer only complete sets.

3. Subject, topical, reference, or case files: This kind of record will probably never be ready for transfer in its entirety. As individual folders or portions of the file group are no longer needed for reference they may be transferred at the end of the year, along with annual records.

4. Old materials: Historical materials, published or unpublished, along with any other old records that should have been transferred earlier, should be transferred as soon as possible.

Method of Transfer
1. The Archives and Records Center requires that you transfer a complete alphabet or file section at one time. DO NOT SEND RECORDS PIECEMEAL, SUCH AS ONE OR TWO FILES AT A TIME. The records will be easier for us to find and, therefore, more useable for you when you might need to retrieve them.

2. Select the files to be transferred. Place in well-marked manila folders. DO NOT USE HANGING FOLDERS. BOXES CONTAINING HANGING FOLDERS WILL BE RETURNED!

3. Acid-free records storage boxes are available from the Archives and Records Center.

4. Fill boxes snugly but not tightly. A box need not be completely full before it can be transferred; however, see 1 above.

5. Completely identify the contents of each box on an Office Inventory Transfer Form (sample next page) and place it on top of the material inside the box.

6. If several boxes are in sequence, number the boxes lightly in pencil. Do not use pen or felt markers on the box or tape anything to it.

7. Arrange with Custodial Services to have the boxes delivered to the Archives and Records Center.