Yes! The records in the UNCSA Archives are open for public use, with the exception of sensitive or confidential material. Please contact the Archives and we will set up a time for you to come by and review the records.
It depends on what kind of record it is and how it was used. If it was used primarily as an electronic file (for example, a Word document or PDF that was sent to staff), keep the electronic copy. If it was printed and shared, keep the print copy. You may also keep paper copies with notes, as these can add useful details to records.
Scanning paper files does not change your records management responsibilities for those materials. If you need to save space, we recommend that you prioritize organizing and looking through the records to figure out whether there are any you can discard or transfer to the Archives. If you still want to go ahead with scanning, let us know: we cannot provide help with digitization, but we can provide tips and suggestions on imaging standards, file formats, and organization.
While it's true that all records created by UNCSA employees are subject to the State of North Carolina's Public Records Act, the law does allow many records to be disposed of. The UNC General Records Retention and Disposition Schedule and UNCSA-Specific Records Retention and Disposition Schedule describe what records can be discarded and when, and which ones need to be kept. If the records schedule says that certain documents do not need to be retained, you can get rid of them. For certain records, the Records Schedule requires that they are kept for a certain amount of time, but may be disposed of after that time has passed. Not sure what category your records fall into? Contact the Archives and we can go through them with you.
No please! The Archives has very limited space and staffing. Each department must be responsible for managing the records in their office according to the General Records Schedule or UNCSA-Specific Records Schedule. However, we can visit your office, look through your records with you, and talk about strategies for getting organized and managing the records in your office.
Those records remain the responsibility of the office that created them. If you've inherited records, talk with your supervisor or department head about who in your office is responsible for reviewing the records to determine which ones, if any, need to be kept and transferred to the Archives. Feel free to contact us for help.
If you think the records schedule is incorrect or an addition is warranted, please contact the Archives and we will help address the problem.
If there is a public records request for records in your office, or if a legal or audit hold is placed on the records, keep the records until all holds are cleared. The disposition instructions in the records schedule are always superseded by public records requests or legal holds. Once you receive clearance that the holds have been removed, you can go ahead and follow the instructions in the records schedule.