Records Management Advice
Basics of Records Management
Purpose: Provide guidance to state government agencies regarding the proper transfer procedure for archival records.
Records are transferred to the State Archives either directly from the agency that created them or via the State Records Center.
Direct Transfers
State agencies may transfer archival records directly to the State Archives if they have reached the end of their retention periods or if they are records, deemed by the Archives on an approved retention schedule to be archival. The records must be boxed in State Records Center boxes and the boxes must be labeled. A Transmittal of Records form and a Packing Slip must accompany the boxes.
Records from the Office of the Governor, the House of Representatives and the State Senate are typically transferred directly to the State Archives.
Transfers from the State Records Center
Archival records stored at the State Records Center will be automatically transferred to the State Archives when the end of the total retention period has been reached. The agency of origin will be notified of the transfer, at which time authority of the records will shift to the State Archives. In order to catalog the records into the Archives system, it is essential that the Transmittal of Records form has been prepared. Having a Packing Slip within each box is vital in ensuring that all of the contents within the box are present and have not been issued back to the originating agency prior to transfer.
By taking the appropriate measures prior to transfer, agencies will greatly assist the efforts of the Archives to provide access to important public records for generations to come.
Additional advice regarding the management of public records is available online.
"The right record, to the right person, at the right time, at the lowest possible cost"