A frequent concern is that public records are too often accessed and utilized beyond their retention period. Frequently, the records in question are submitted to FOIL or OPRA access requests or become the subject of other litigation or investigations. This can lead to unnecessary searches for old documents and a substantial administrative burden in retrieving the information required to meet these requests. A strict adherence to schedules for retention of records and a well organized and centralized digital records management system is a great option to avoid these kinds of problems.
In order to determine what type of document is, it is necessary to understand its context. A document that is the original copy of a report that contains significant information should be stored in a more permanent manner than a draft of the same document.
Retention Schedules is legal document that specifies the length for which documents should be kept and when it is able to be destroyed or moved into the archives (or any other alternative option for disposal). Following these strict guidelines is the best way to ensure minimizing searching for old documents in response to access requests.
Schedules are classified as ADMIN USE (for administrative use), permanent (for retention of public records permanent preservation), or TRANSFERRED TO ARCHIVES FOR REVIEW in accordance with the amount of preservation required for a particular record. The PERMANENT category includes records such as policies and procedures, handbooks, minutes of council and board meetings, institutional accreditation reports and other important documents. The TRANSFER TO ARCHIVES for REVIEW category covers records that are not deemed permanent, but they have a significant quality of archival significance. These include the records of the president and other high-ranking officials, governance handbooks or minutes and graduation or inaugural events as well as other important records.