H.1.10 Records Management

Marine Biological Laboratory
Policy No.H.1.10
Library

Initiated by: Director, MBLWHOI Library
Approved by: MBL Director/CEO
Date: September 8, 2009
Revision:
Distribution: MBL Community

1.0 Policy Statement:
The Director, recognizing the need for a formal records retention policy to ensure the preservation and availability of the official records of the Marine Biological Laboratory for legal, administrative, and historical purposes, adopts the following policy and procedure for the collection and preservation of these vital papers, records and documents. Records retention policies and regulations are identical regardless of the form in which the records exist- paper or electronic.

2.0 All materials generated or received by the various administrative and academic offices of the Laboratory in the conduct of their business, regardless of the form in which they are created and maintained, are the property of the Laboratory. The materials covered by this policy include all papers and correspondence, including official printed materials, minutes, committee files, photographs, instruments, models, machine-readable files, financial records, personnel records, primary data, notebooks, and associated papers – in sum, any digital records, papers generated or received by the various administrative and academic offices of the Laboratory in the conduct of their business or scientific work. Material of historical interest will be retained in perpetuity to preserve important information about the Laboratory and constitute archival material, which are governed by the Archival Policy.

Materials that provide evidence of the Laboratory’s organization, legal obligations, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, and other activities constitute records. Records will be retained, at a minimum, for periods required by federal and state statutes.

3.0 No Laboratory records may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of without the approval of the Records Management Program/Records Manager.

    3.1. Records have only temporary value and, once they are no longer in use (inactive), can be destroyed at the end of their retention period. The officer in charge of each administrative or academic office, in consultation with the Records Manager, will be responsible for deciding how long inactive papers/e-documents are to be retained in and under the direct control of the office concerned. The officer in charge and the Records Manager will determine the appropriate retention periods based upon legal and administrative requirements. The Records Manager maintains retention schedules.

    3.2. In many cases, multiple copies of records exist. The Records Manger defines the department that is officially responsible for retaining and disposing of the materials (the “Office of Record”). Attachment A lists the departments and responsible individuals. 

4.0 Policy and Procedural Updates
Policy clarification and procedural updates are available from the MBLWHOI Library.