I'm trying to help a colleague who does not subscribe to this list.  She's
working with an organization that manages a performing arts facility.
Their friends organization is responsible for booking all the performances
and collecting fees.  The organization she's working with has various
records relating to the work they've done in relation to putting on the
performances, i.e. lighting, stage requirements etc.

She's getting conflicting feedback from the folks that work with the
records as to how valuable the records are and how long to keep them.  One
side essentially says, "they have no use once the performance is over, so
throw them away".

The other camp feels they have a useful life after the performance and they
refer to them if the same group does a performance at a later date or they
want to do something similar to the way so-and-so did their performance a
couple of years ago.  That camp feels they should be kept for 30 years, but
they have no backup supporting documentation as to why that is the correct
period.

The organization's current retention schedule does not even mention this
records series.

My personal feeling is that while the 30 years might be a bit excessive,
the throw it away at the end of the production is a bit too short.

We've searched and found references to performing arts records in relation
to universities but those records seem to relate more to productions put on
by students as part of their curriculum, so they don't seem to fit.

Has anyone ever come across records of a similar nature?

As always, any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.
____________________
Charis Wilson, MLS, CRM
Records Manager / FOIA Officer
National Park Service - DSC
Technical Information Center
PO Box 25287, Denver, CO   80225-0287
303-969-2959

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