Chris reported that he had prepared a "terms of reference" for the University Records Disposition Committee (copy circulated at meeting or see attached). Ruth indicated that she would raise the matter in her meeting with Vice President Srivastava.
Chris also reported that as per Tony's report at the last meeting the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act was proclaimed on November 3rd.
Bill was unable to attend this meeting and the agenda item was carried over to the next meeting.
A copy of the draft document was circulated for information to the Committee and feedback was invited. Chris indicated that this draft policy was developed in response to a potential demand for some campus records management services. He felt that it important to establish some guidelines pertaining to the responsibilities of the University Archives in the delivery of such services. At this point University Archives staff are working primarily at a macro level in developing schedules for records retention for general records series on campus. It would, however, still bepossible to take on the occasional contract on a charge back basis for records management services. Following some discussion of the issue it was agreed that it probably would not be possible to force campus offices to use this service but that it could be financially attractive and at the same time would ensure that systems developed for individual offices would be compatible with the institution-wide records management program.
Draft records schedules were circulated for discussion at the meeting and Erwin provided a brief overview of their development (summary follows).
Two sets of records schedules are being produced. The Combined Summary Records Schedule summarizes the records retention requirements for all record series presented in chart form. This format makes it easy for office staff to use on a daily basis. Its structure also provides a frame- work for staff to organize their records on a logical basis. The Records Retention Schedule and Disposal Authorities (RRSDA) are more comprehensive. One RRSDA form is completed for each record series. The form is designed to present more detailed information than in the Summary Schedule - in particular, information regarding the contents of files, the functions of the records, and the relevant statutes, regulations, and policies which may govern the management of that record series. As each RRSDA is finalized, it must be approved by the University Records Disposition Committee and other relevant University authorities before becoming official University policy. Eventually, each administrative unit will receive copies of both the Combined Summary Records Schedule and the RRSDA's.
To date, the structure of the Summary Schedule has been finalized, although the information that it contains is still undergoing revision in response to staff feedback. The standard form for the RRSDA has also been created. RRSDA's have also been completed for each undergraduate student record series, and a few others - these, however, should still be considered to be in the draft stage. What remains to be done is to carry out the revisions to the Summary Schedule, and complete RRSDA's for the remaining series listed in the Summary Schedule. These then will be brought before the relevant administrative heads for their endorsement, before submission to the University Records Disposition Committee.
Although the discussion included some of the substantive contents of the schedules, the Committee spent most of the time discussing the procedures for reviewing the schedules. It was decided that Erwin should consult with representatives of individuals dealing with non-office of origin copies of records (i.e. faculty advisors) and seek formal approval of the various individuals ultimately responsible for the various records series. The details of the approval procedure for the Advisory Committee will be discussed at its next meeting.
Unfortunately there was insufficient time at the meeting for this presentation. Pat distributed two documents - Institutional Data Resource Management Policy and Institutional Data Resource Management Guidelines and asked Committee members to review the material and contact him with any comments. He also offered to discuss issues arising from these documents with interested groups on campus. This agenda item was carried over to the next meeting.
Chris reported that he had been contacted by, and met with, Bernard Roy who asked for some information about records storage requirements as part of a preliminary study of campus storage requirements for Campus Planning. Although it is not clear if anything will come of this initiative it is gratifying to know that we are beginning to get the message out about the need for records management which includes a concern about records storage.
January 12th - Librarian's Office, 9:00 - 11:00
Back to "University Archives and Records Management Advisory Committee"