Dava,
Since disposition of records is normally determined on a series-by-series
basis, if you have no indication that the records were stored as a series,
you really have no alternative to identifying the records for disposition
except to physically examine each box. Some entities have no knowledge of
the series concept and would have had no reason to sort their records and
box them accordingly, and depending on the age of the records, some may
pre-date the application of such principles. If this has occurred, you may
run into boxes that have any number of record types within any given box.
Permanent and legally important records could easily be mixed with those
that are obsolete and valueless. I personally wouldn't want to take
responsibility for "chucking" anything I didn't have intellectual control
over.
Because of this I would suggest that you do need to do a sight inventory of
every box, and furthermore, you will need to determine whether any file
labels that exist actually match the contents of the files. Sometime folks
send things to storage in old, re-used or mislabeled folders too.
Furthermore, file labels can come off, exposing old labels which now look
like the only one and would be, now, the wrong label for that folder. This
happens a lot if the storage areas are not environmentally controlled.
You don't say what type of entity this pertains to, but some are more likely
to have stored their records badly than others. If this entity is regulated
in any way, in the absence of an index, I think you will need to examine
each box thoroughly.
Sounds as though you will need help.
Good Luck--
Elizabeth Fairfax
Island County Records and Information Services
-----Original Message-----
From: Nolene Sherman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 3:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Seeking advice on Identifying physical records
Is there no index of the stored records at all? Or is the index just
woefully inadequate?
Nolene
(949) 789-1668
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Carnell, Dava
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 1:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Seeking advice on Identifying physical records
I am seeking advice from List participants who have experience with
identification of a large volume of documents that might be stored off site
(ex. 30,000-50,000 CuFt.) Have you used sampling or any other method
(besides brute force and popping the top on every box) to reasonably apply
a record series for storage/disposition? Can you share your approach and
your reasoning for why a company should or should not use an alternate
method? Would your response differ if the records were stored outside the
US? Thanks for your input and advice.
Dava Carnell
Director, Document & Records Management
Office: 918-661-1530, Cell: 918-841-0089
1148 Phillips Bldg
Bartlesville, OK 74004
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