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SPEC Kit 305: Records Management · 19
Survey Questions and Responses
The SPEC survey on Records Management was designed by Clark E. Center, Jr., Curator, W.S. Hoole Special
Collections Library, University of Alabama. These results are based on data submitted by 62 of the 123 ARL
member libraries (50%) by the deadline of February 25, 2008. The survey’s introductory text and questions
are reproduced below, followed by the response data and selected comments from the respondents.
Records management is the field of management responsible for efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt,
maintenance, use, and disposition of the records of a business or organization. There are two reasons for retaining non-current
records. First is to satisfy the legal and fiduciary responsibilities of the organization for specific periods of time second is to
permanently retain those records which document the history of the institution. The benefits of a records management program
include:
• Systematic segregation of records that have significant legal or operational value from those that have permanent value to the
institution.
• Reduction in duplicated efforts from one administrative unit of the organization to another.
• Alleviation of storage space problems throughout the organization.
• Protection of personal information contained in the records.
• Efficient retrieval of records.
• Proper disposal of outdated records.
• Saving money (according to a 1997 estimate by the National Archives of Records Administration, records kept in storage cost
$21.61 less per cubic foot than records kept in office space.)
Not all academic or research institutions have a records management program. In those that do, administration of the program
may be the responsibility of staff in an archives department, a special collections department or library, a remote shelving facility,
or some other unit. There has, as yet, been no inquiry into the state of records management in ARL member institutions. We don’t
know how many ARL libraries are responsible for an institutional records management program, what models they follow, what
practices they follow, or who pays for records management.
This survey seeks to answer the questions:
How widespread is the practice of placing records management in the library rather than somewhere else in the institution?
Where is records management placed in the administrative structure of the library?
What staff administer the records management program?

SPEC Kit 305: Records Management· 17
Staff Training
Staff receive training in records management poli-
cies and procedures in a number of ways. The most
common methods are in-person workshops (20 re-
spondents or 83%) and on-the-job experience (19 re-
spondents or 79%). Self-study of manuals (46%) and
formal classes (33%) are also fairly common. Only
three respondents (13%) have used webinars. A va-
riety of other methods have been used, including a
records management listserv, Web training modules,
and one-on-one instruction.
Thirteen respondents (59%) reported that all staff
members are trained to manage all formats of re-
cords. Of the other nine respondents, one stated that
all staff are trained to manage textual, audio-visual,
and graphic materials, while only the department
head was trained to handle electronic records. One
reported staff training in paper and electronic records
and other formats as needed. Two reported limited
experience or no training with electronic records.
One stated that training depends on job functions
and data access policies.
Assessment
The survey asked what metrics are used to assess the
performance of the records management program.
Eleven respondents (48%) measure success by the
percentage of departments using the records man-
agement program. Seven (30%) use the turnaround
time for retrieval requests. Six (26%) use the turn-
around time for accessioning, creating box lists, and
moving items to storage. Four (17%) use the backlog
volume. Eight (35%) have not assessed the success of
the program.
Conclusion
It is interesting that only two-thirds of the institutions
responding have records management programs and
that the majority of those programs are located in the
library. Within those libraries, there is no single mod-
el of records management. In some cases, the records
management program deals with both permanent
and non-permanent records. In others it deals with
permanent records only. Not all are funded in the
same way. Only five programs use dedicated records
management software systems. The majority who
are utilizing electronic tools use tools that are library
specific or could be expected to be in use in a library.
Surprisingly little progress seems to have been made
in gaining control over electronic records, judging by
the number in storage. Nonetheless, the services of-
fered to their institutions are largely the same.