Managing University Records

Overview

The following is a description of services that the University Archives and Records Management department offers. For more information, please contact records@columbia.edu.

Records Management

  • helps offices assess their records and record types for retention and disposition.
  • provides advice about file management, offsite storage and policy compliance.
  • identifies records of enduring historical value for transfer to the Archives.

We are here to help you manage your records: What records do you need to keep; how long do you need to keep them for; how to dispose of records; and which to transfer to the Archives.

University Archives

  • takes custody of inactive records with enduring historical value.
  • provides inventories, access to your files and/or research services.

**All administrative records received by the University Archives are available to the originating office, but are automatically restricted for a period of 25 years from the date of creation for outside researchers.**

Resources

  • General Records Guidelines
    These guidelines serve as an introduction to records management and as a guide to existing policies and resources available on campus. These guidelines apply both to paper and electronic records.
  • Records Management for Student Organizations
    We offer guidance to student organizations in developing recordkeeping practices to preserve their group's history. Because students spend a limited amount of time on campus, we share some solutions for how to maintain their organization’s history in a way that can be passed down to future members. Students can learn how to sort significant records from those that can be safely discarded and we offer best practices for storing, organizing and making their records accessible, whether or not they choose to donate their organization’s records to the University Archives. 
  • Record Packing Tips
    Not all records need to be kept readily available at all times. When files become less active and are only accessed sporadically, these records can be kept in storage areas or sent to offsite storage. Here are some tips on how to pack your records for storage.
  • Training Slides
    This section offers a number of slide presentations to help you become better acquainted with records management principles and best practices. And the presentations include images from the University Archives collections.
  • Services & Vendors
    Find out about the University's preferred vendors for records management services such as offsite storage and shredding. Learn how to be in compliance with the University's disposal of information resources policy.
  • Managing eFiles
    Most users are familiar with organizing file folders and filing cabinets in the paper world. Managing electronic records presents some different challenges. We have complied a list of best practices on how to organize electronic files in shared drives (folder systems), how to name files (naming conventions), and how to manage works in progress (version control).
  • Website Preservation
    As more and more publications go online, certain material is now only published on the University's website. Websites are university documents. Here is some information on how to create sites for preservation, how we archive websites and how you can help in these preservation efforts. Learn also about some tools that can help you archive social media content.
  • Transferring Digital Records to the University Archives
    Here are some strategies on how to prepare your records when you are ready to transfer records of enduring historical value to the University Archives.