Transferring and Retrievingthe Records of the Freer

Gallery of Art and ArthurM. Sackler Gallery

Presented by

Jennifer Wright

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Records Management Team

November 9, 2004

Goals of the Presentation

Introduce the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) and its Records Management Services

Discuss the Freer/Sackler Records Disposition Schedule

Describe the Processes for Transferring and Retrieving Records

Answer Questions

SIA’s Mission Appraise, acquire and preserve records of

the Institution Establish policies and provide guidance for

management of the National Collections Offer a range of reference, research, and

records services Create products and services which promote

understanding of the Smithsonian and its history

SIA’s Authority – SD 501 “All documents created or received by

employees of SI in the course of official business are records of the Institution, and none may be disposed of except in accord [with guidelines] established by the Smithsonian Archives.”

Records Management Services Help identify what to keep and what to discard Create disposition schedules Assist you in organizing your records – advice and

file plans Supply boxes and do the physical transfer of

records Maintain and care for records Provide access to the records Destroy records according to established

schedules

Advantages of Records Management Faster retrieval of documents Reduced/eliminated level of record-keeping

redundancies Reduced costs of storage equipment and

supplies Elimination of unnecessary files storage Increased usable space

Freer/Sackler Records Disposition Schedule Authorized by Freer/Sackler administration

in 1999 Instructs on records disposition Consists of a general schedule and a

schedule for each office– General Schedule – Used for records common

to many offices– Office Schedule – Used for records found in a

specific office

Record Schedule Structure Consists of 6 columns

– Series Title– Series Description– Office of Record– Retention Period– Source– Disposition

Series Title and Description Series

– A group of records that serve the same function and are often filed together

Series Title– A descriptive title used to identify a series of

records

Series Description– A detailed description of the types of records

that are included in this series.

Office of Record Office of Record is responsible for

maintaining the official and most complete set of the record– “Torch” Office of Public Affairs– “Smithsonian Directives” (SDs) Office of

Planning Management and Budget

Not all offices are the Office of Record

Retention Period Permanent Records

– Historical, enduring value– Best document your office’s activities

Temporary Records– Records of short-term value– Records for which you are not the Office of Record– Administrative, routine, housekeeping functions

Permanent/Temporary Records– Records with short-term value that are interfiled with

records of permanent value and need to be weeded before transfer

Appraisal Source

Documentation of legal authority, or appraisal decision on which retention decisions are based– SIA– National Archives and Records Administration

General Records Schedules– Previously authorized schedules for

Smithsonian units

Records Disposition Instructions for the maintenance or transfer of

records once they become inactive– Inactive Records are no longer needed by your office to

conduct current business

Disposition information instructs units in how long to keep records in this series and what to do when that time period is over– Permanent records will usually be transferred to Archives

– Temporary records will either be destroyed on-site or transferred to SIA’s Records Center for longer-term temporary storage

Records Transfer

Call SIA with the types of records to be transferred and the number of boxes you will require

Transfer records from filing cabinets to boxes, removing all hanging folders and binders

Number the boxes and create a list of folder titles in each box

E-mail the folder list to SIA and schedule a records pickup

Records Retrieval After the records transfer, SIA will provide you

with the accession number and a copy of the folder list and will place another copy on the Web with full-text search.

To retrieve records, simply contact SIA. Records stored on-site can be retrieved

immediately. Records stored off-site will be retrieved once per week.

Records may be used in the SIA Reading Room or charged-out for extended use.

Records Center Records Center materials should be prepared,

transferred, and retrieved in the same manner as permanent records.

At transfer, a destruction date will be assigned based on the Freer/Sackler records disposition schedule.

SIA will ensure the timely destruction of records. Destruction will be suspended pending

investigations or legal actions that might bear upon the records.

Contact Information and Resources General questions and records transfers: contact

Jennifer Wright, Freer/Sackler Liaison, 357-1421 ext. 37, WrightJM@si.edu

Reference Services: e-mail osiaref@si.edu or call 357-1420

SI Archives Website: http://siarchives.si.edu Records Management on the Web: http://

siarchives.si.edu/records/main.html Freer/Sackler Disposition Schedule:

http://prism.si.edu/ocio/sia/FGAAMS%20Schedule/fgaamsgtoc.html (SI only)