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• Proper disposal of outdated records.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?
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?
