Procedure Guide for Transferring Records

This guide is to help organisations identify records of permanent value, list these records and then transfer them to the Archives.

• Essential information
• Conditions of deposit
• Conditions of access
• Records to transfer
• Records not to transfer
• Some exceptions
• Transferring records to the Archives
• Records management advice

It is essential to make contact with Archives staff before forwarding any records. It is expected that some appraisal of the records will be made by the depositing organisation before the records are nominated for transfer. Archives staff are happy to provide assistance.

Information provided in Services for Depositors will also be of interest and should be read in conjunction with these pages.

Essential information

Address for deliveries:

Senior Archivist
Noel Butlin Archives Centre
Building 76
12 Balmain Crescent
Australian National University
ACTON ACT 2601

Postal address:

Senior Archivist
Noel Butlin Archives Centre
Australian National University
CANBERRA ACT 0200

Conditions of deposit

The conditions under which the records are deposited are explained in detail on our Services for Depositors Overview page. Further information is available from the Senior Archivist.

Conditions of access

• Authorised representatives of the depositor may have access to the records at any time during normal business hours.
• Under normal circumstances the Centre may give access to persons known to be bona fide researchers in a field to which the records are relevant. All other applications for access are referred to the depositor in the first instance.
• All users of records held in the Centre must sign an Access Agreement, which outlines the conditions under which the records can be used by researchers.
• Any requests made directly to the organisation for information in the records held at NBAC from organisation members, family history researchers, journalists, filmmakers, or members of any other organisation should be referred to the Centre with a letter of approval from the Secretary or Managing Director. If this is not done delay will ensue, as the Centre will have to contact the organisation for permission before access is given.
• In exceptional circumstances, a collection or part of a collection may be restricted. This means that all users must obtain permission (through the Archives) from the depositor prior to access being granted. This arrangement is rare and is done by negotiation with the Senior Archivist.

Records to transfer

Examples of the types of records to transfer include:

• minutes of the organisation;
• constitution, articles of association, rulebooks, prospectuses, etc (one copy of the first and all amended copies);
• registers of members and related material;
• staff records;
• office, subject and correspondence files (include a copy of the file classification scheme if used);
• files of individual officers or members of staff;
• report and submissions compiled by the organisation;
• records relating to special events or campaigns in which the organisation was involved;
• financial records including balance sheets, etc;
• industrial files (clearly identified - include files re major agreements, disputes, case files, etc);
• operational records used to run the organisation that are unique to the industry or union (eg beer recipe books, stock records, patent agreements, trade catalogues, etc);
• conference papers of conferences run by the organisation;
• speeches, etc by members of the organisation;
• publications of the organisation (include posters, handbills, information booklets, circulars, etc and put us on the mailing list for current publications which will then be added to your collection);
• historical material including published or unpublished histories and press cuttings relating to the organisation; and
• photographs that are identified and dated.

This list is only a guide, as there are many other examples of records that should be kept. In general, you should preserve records of policy- and decision-making bodies within the organisation, and those shedding light on major issues and the way they were dealt with by the organisation. With financial records, we look particularly toward annual and semi-annual financial statements and their supporting documents. Once we enter the realm of operational records (or records unique to the industry), it becomes a matter for appraisal in each case.

Remember - if in doubt please ask the Archives staff.

Records not to transfer

Examples of the types of records not to transfer to the Archives include:

• records of short-term value that can be destroyed after 5-10 years eg low-level financial records such as chequebooks, bank statements, receipt books and some membership application forms;
• routine files of no long-term value eg 'housekeeping' files relating to hiring vehicles, subscriptions to journals, etc. We rely on you to identify and discard files of no permanent worth;
• duplicates eg extra copies of official conference papers, files of duplicate circulars, and chronological copies of outward letters that are duplicated in the file series;
• unsorted bundles of loose papers and unidentified files: if these are worth keeping, they should be assessed and identified by the organisation before despatch;
• unassessed industrial files: such files cannot be accepted if they have not been evaluated for permanent value by the organisation.

If you are uncertain about which records to transfer, please consult the Senior Archivist.

Some exceptions

• When very little remains of the early records of an organisation, the Archives will consider keepingany surviving records as the only evidence available to document its existence.
• We can no longer store 'library' material for every organisation eg general circulars, directories and journals received from other organisations.
• We keep one reference set of such published material which is available for all researchers to use. Please consult the Archives before destroying these records as we can accept donated copies to fill the gaps in our reference collection.
• Other exceptions include particular collections of publications that relate to the industry in which the organisation is involved. These may be preserved as an historical collection for reference use (eg advertising, brewing, etc).

Transferring records to the archives

While a senior officer within the depositing organisation (Managing Director, General Secretary) should assume overall responsibility for the records sent, a contact person should be appointed to arrange the regular listing, packing and despatch of the records.

When you wish to add to your collection the following guidelines should help:

• Getting ready
• Listing the records
• Packing and despatch

Getting ready

1. Telephone the Archives on (02) 6125 2219:

• Speak to the Archivist in charge of accessions and processing (or another staff member) and advise them of your intention to transfer records.
• Estimate the quantity and give a brief outline of the records you want to transfer eg Executive Council minute books, 1966-1979 and office files c1980-1999.
• Discuss any problems regarding the selection of records to transfer.
• Address and freight labels will be sent to your office as required. A label must be attached to each carton to be sent.

2. Check lists of records sent in the past for continuity:

• A reference set of lists compiled in the Archives should be available in your office in a red ring binder with the Archives’ name on the front.

3. Assemble the records for despatch:

• Establish a realistic cut-off date, say 5 years, so that you are not transferring files or other records that may be required for use in the day-to-day operations of the office.

Listing the records

1. List the records (a sample box list is available from the Archives):

• Note first the name of the organisation or person who created the records. If possible, also note the department or person within the organisation who was responsible for the records (eg Managing Director, Public Relations Officer, etc).
• If the records clearly predate a recent administrative change, the name will be that of the original body eg records created by APSA, ACOA and ABC Staff Union prior to 1989 could be transferred by the CPSU, and the records created by Mauri Bros and Thompson Ltd could be transferred by Burns Philp Ltd.
• Where there is no clear distinction between the old and new names within files/records use the current name of the organisation.
• Give each series or group of records a title eg ‘minute books’, ‘office files’, etc, then list each one. The file title and date range of contents should be given.
• Files should be listed in the order in which they are kept in the office (eg alphabetically, by classification number, etc).
• Send a copy of the list to the Archives and wait for us to confirm that we will accept the records.

Packing and despatch

1. Pack the records into cartons:

• Consecutively number each carton and the corresponding list.
• Seal the base and top of each carton securely with good quality plasticised tape.
• Attach address and freight labels to each carton.
• Ensure that filled cartons can be carried easily.

2. Despatch of records:

• Telephone the Archives to arrange collection when the material is ready.
• Give the name of a contact person, telephone number, exact number and size of cartons, address for pick-up and any special instructions regarding access to the building or times of opening.
• Collection is usually by contract carriers for the Australian National University and is organised by the Archives.
• Archives staff will provide further assistance when contacted.

3. Send a copy of your box list to the Archives by mail:

• Advise of any changes to the organisation’s name, Secretary, address, telephone and/or fax number, etc.

Records management advice

In addition to the advice provided by the Noel Butlin Archives Centre, information on the short-term and long-term value of records is available from a variety of sources. For example:

• The Trade Union Records Disposal Guide and Schedule is a guide to appraising trade union records. It was jointly published in 1998 by the Noel Butlin Archives Centre and the University of Melbourne Archives, and is available from both institutions in either paper or electronic form.
• Advice on electronic records is available from the National Archives of Australia at http://www.naa.gov.au/. The National Archives provides advice on the management of electronic records including their preservation and migration, managing email, archiving websites and appraising websites for disposal or permanent retention.

Guides to the disposal or retention of common administrative records are available from various government archives. Although primarily for the management of government records, they can be easily adapted to cover administrative records in trade unions or other organisations.

• National Archives of Australia: Administrative Functions Disposal Authority (AFDA)
• State Records New South Wales: General Disposal Authorities. See ‘Services’ – ‘For the NSW public sector’ – ‘Disposal of State records’ – ‘General disposal authorities’;
• Queensland Government State Archives: General Records Disposal Schedule for Administrative Records (in ‘Recordkeeping Policies, Guidelines and Standards)
• State Records of South Australia: General Disposal Schedule No. 15
• Northern Territory Archives Service: Administrative Records of the Northern Territory Government. See ‘Government Record Keeping’ – ‘Records Disposal Schedules’ – ‘Administrative Records’; and
• Archives Office of Tasmania: General Disposal Schedules

While disposal schedules are useful tools for dealing with most modern administrative records, care should be taken when dealing with 19^th or early 20^th century material. As the survival rate is often not as high as we would like, it is often best when dealing with such material to contact the NBAC, University of Melbourne Archives or other relevant organisation. When in doubt, please ask.