University Archives: Records Management

Records, whether in paper or electronic form, are created daily in campus offices and departments. The majority of these records are intended for the specific purposes of those offices and are needed for a short period of time.

Other records, such as files on grants or extended projects, may be used for longer periods. Among both types of records, some files will continue to have legal and historical value for documenting the activities of the University beyond their original purpose.

Types of records which are of permanent historical / archival value to the University include:

Primary papers of the President, Provost, Vice President’s and Dean’s offices.
These records include all statements of policy, reports, correspondence (other than routine thank-yous and acknowledgements), speeches, university committee minutes, publicity materials, business files and memoranda (including email as appropriate).

Records from administrative and academic offices.
Correspondence, annual reports, department meeting minutes, final grant reports, self-study reports, policy statements and planning documents, symposium or colloquium files, newsletters and publications.

Faculty Committee Meeting Minutes
Including minutes from special task forces and working groups.

College Publications
Catalogs, newspapers, yearbooks, literary magazines, newsletters, brochures, programs, posters.

Audio-Visual materials
Films, sound recordings, videotapes, and photographs produced by the University

Faculty and Alumni publications

Student Organization Records
Minutes, publications, photographs

1. Review files annually for files scheduled to be transferred to the University Archives or destroyed. 

2. For files to be transferred to inactive storage:

• Contact the Special Collections Department (2-5461) for boxes. (1 full file drawer = 2 boxes)
• Place file folders in a box grouped by type.
• DO NOT use hanging file folders. They do not fit the boxes and are an expensive way to store records. DO put records in labeled folders.
• Keep folders upright with labels facing forward
• If placing more than one record type in a box, place a marker sheet between the folders.
• Label the outside of the box in PENCIL with: Office or Department Name, record type and date range, numbers of boxes in sequence  (Example:  Box 1 of 4)
• Prepare a list by individual folder title or groups for each box. The list will be used in retrieving records as needed in the future. The office should keep a copy and a copy should be emailed  the Archivist when the materials are transferred.

3. Contact the Archivist (uarchives@stthomas.edu or 2 - 5461) regarding the pick-up and delivery of materials to the University Archives.

1. While the University Archives does accept records in a number of formats, preferred formats include:

              PDF / PDF-A / DOCX (Text)
              TIFF / JPG (Photos)
              XLSX / CSV (Data /Spreadsheets)

2. Electronic document folders should be organized in a manner similar to your paper files. A simple file directory that reflects the actual functions of an office or organization is the best place to manage your records. In most cases, the files will not be individually read and manually re-arranged by the archivist after the transfer. It should not be necessary to engage in a wholesale reorganization of the local filing system – if it worked for you, it should work for the archives.

3. Contact the Archivist to arrange for transfer of electronic records to the archives :  uarchives@stthomas.edu or 2-5461.   We will discuss with you the best transfer method (via hard drive, USB drives or cloud transfer).

4, Fill out a copy of the Digital Files Transfer Form and include it when the files are transferred to the University Archives.