Records Management Program

For the past couple years the Library has been involved in the creation of a Records Management program for the University. Under the leadership of Dean Charles Kratz and University Council Abby Byman, a committee has been working to put together a records management policy for all departments across the University. Records Management is the process that an institution uses to control the production and retention of documents. Different types of records need to be retained for specific periods of time for business, regulatory, legal, and historical purposes. Some material can be disposed of as soon as its immediate use within the department has ended. Other material must be kept for a number of years to provide documentation for active programs or for regulatory or accounting purposes. And some material must be kept permanently for legal purposes or to document the historical activities of the department and university. All organizations, whether corporations, educational institutions, or nonprofit groups need to follow records management policies in order to protect themselves and document their history and activities. The recently approved policies provide the rationale and basic strategies for managing, preserving, or disposing of official university records. A Records Schedule, which is applicable to all University departments, is in preparation. The Records Schedule specifies how long different types of records should be retained and whether they should be disposed or sent to the Archives. The policies, assorted forms, and the record schedule are either currently available or will be available at the Records Management website http://academic.scranton.edu/organization/rmr/policies.shtml.

 

For further information, please contact Michael Knies or Margaret Craft.