Haverford CollegeLibraries

Haverford College is committed to the systematic, consistent, and comprehensive management, retention, and disposition of all records, regardless of medium or format, created and/or maintained by employees of Haverford College.

 Policy & Retention Schedule

The Haverford College Archives administers the College’s Records Management Program along with advice and support of the Records Management Advisory Group (RMAG). Approved by Senior Staff in 2016 and revised in 2022, the Records Management Policy and the Records Retention Schedule outline the responsibilities of Haverford College staff, faculty, and administrators for managing records in their custody.

For questions or for assistance in effectively managing College records, please contact the ejonesmins [at] haverford.edu (College Archivist/Records Manager).

• Records Management Policy
• Records Retention Schedule

 Procedures

Managing Records

Records management responsibilities go beyond keeping and disposing of records at the appropriate time. Departments and offices are responsible for efficiently managing records so that they are accessible as long as they are considered active departmental records. This entails creating, categorizing, and saving records in a way that allows them to be easily located, retrieved, and used.

Records Liaison

Each department is encouraged to designate a Records Liaison. The Records Liaison functions as the primary point of contact between each office and the records manager and should be knowledgeable about the department's current record keeping practices.
The Records Liaison should:

• Assist with the development and implementation of the records management program.
• Assist with the training and education of staff concerning records management policies and any departmental or office procedures for handling records.

Records Inventory

The purpose of a records inventory is to identify and quantify all records created or maintained by your department or office. The records inventory is used to collect information about your records including type, date range, format, volume, storage location, and applicable records series information.

The inventory is not intended to be an individual folder or document-item list, but rather an examination of groups of similar or related records referred to as a records series. The information gathered during the inventory process will assist in the identification of any records not currently covered by an existing retention schedule and provides a department or office with a comprehensive list of their records.

We have recently revised our Records Retention Schedule and will be contacting departments and offices to schedule a records inventory.

 Records Disposition

Records Storage

All departments and offices are responsible for maintaining their records, throughout their lifecycle, in a safe, stable, and secure manner that supports their timely and accurate retrieval with appropriate controls on their accessibility. For storage guidance and best practices please consult with the College Archivist/Records Manager, your department’s Records Liaison, and the Inactive Record Storage Procedures document to ensure that the records are protected until they surpass their minimum retention period.

Records Transfer

Inactive records that have been identified as having enduring value by the Records Retention Schedule must be retained permanently and should be transferred to the College Archives. Transferred records should be accompanied by a completed records transfer form. Please see the Records Transfer to the College Archive Procedures for more information. For more information on how to transfer your records to the College Archives contact the ejonesmins [at] haverford.edu (College Archivist/Records Manager).  

Records Destruction

Records that are not retained for their enduring historical value and have met the retention requirements described in Records Retention Schedule should be authorized for destruction by the originating office and the College Archivist/Records Manager before they are destroyed.

Contact the ejonesmins [at] haverford.edu (College Archivist/Records Manager) prior to the disposal of records to determine appropriate Record Destruction Procedures.

 Litigation/Hold Directives

Please be aware that all records pertaining to ongoing or pending audits, litigation, or even reasonably anticipated litigation are said to be on litigation hold and must not be altered or destroyed until the hold has been lifted and the records have met their retention.

 Training & Guidance

To request a training session or individual consultation for your department or office, please contact the ejonesmins [at] haverford.edu (College Archivist Records Manager).

• Litigation Hold Procedures
• Inactive Record Storage Procedures
• Records Transfer to the College Archive Procedures
• Record Destruction Procedures
• Records Destruction Form
• Volume Estimation Guide
• Guidelines for File Naming Conventions

 Data Governance & Management

Appropriate records disposition (retention, transfer, disposal) intersects with ongoing Data Governance and Management at the College. Both support the stewardship of trusted information for decision-makers across the College.