Development of Rhine-Waal University Archives
The two-year implementation project aims to lay the groundwork for a permanent record management and archiving service and has the following objectives:
- Establishment of an infrastructure for long-term electronic archiving (digital records, in particular process outputs from the e-file system) and development of the relevant organisational frameworks (retention and archiving policies)
- Review and transfer of written records (analogue documents) as well as preliminary cataloguing of the university’s collection items
- Advising and training the departments responsible for record-keeping on matters of retention and archiving
- Planning the space and equipment for the university archive, as well as sample cataloguing of written records and collection items (analogue and digital)
In addition to providing advice and training on records management, the long-term tasks of the University Archives will primarily include the formation of the archival collection through the review of the records offered. Archival activities also include the cataloguing of the collection items, making them available to university and non-university users, the long-term preservation of the archival materials, and historical education and public outreach work.
Submission of documents by the record-keeping department
All written records, with the exception of those of purely ephemeral value and those which the University Archives has explicitly declined to accept, must be submitted to the University Archives in accordance with the retention and archiving policies. Documents subject to submission must not be destroyed without authorisation.
Documents are reviewed by the University Archives upon submission and, if accepted, are transferred into the collection.
An overview of the types of documents for which there is an indefinite destruction authorisation can be found on the QM portal.
Offering (paper) documents
The submission forms (for case or general records) are available to download from the QM portal. Using the examples provided in the submission lists, you should first decide whether the documents you wish to submit are general or case records. Once you have decided this, please note the record reference number (if available) as well as the time period and the title of the record(s) or the collection on the form. You also have the option of submitting a review proposal to the archive.
Following a review, the University Archives will inform you whether any records are suitable for long-term retention and identify which ones may be destroyed by the record-keeping department in accordance with data protection regulations. If necessary and desired, an appointment can be arranged with the archives management to view the documents on offer (together) at the storage location.
If your records are deemed worthy of preservation, please submit them to the University Archives using the completed transfer list (which can also be downloaded for case and subject records via the QM Portal). At present, it is not yet possible to transfer documents to the archive due to a lack of storage space, so we can only acknowledge receipt of the transfer list and not the transfer itself. As soon as the necessary storage space has been made available, the archive management will contact you again to arrange for the final transfer of the records.
Under Section 2(1) of the NRW Archives Act, records include all documents, official registers, files, written materials, official publications, card indexes, maps, sketches, plans, posters, seals, visual, film and audio documents, and all other records, including electronic records, regardless of their storage format, as well as all tools and supplementary data necessary for the preservation, understanding and use of this information. Records from all areas of university (self-)administration constitute what is known as the records collection.
Business transactions that result in the creation of a record are retained by the record-keeping department (i.e. the faculties, departments, institutions, committees, etc.) not only for the duration of their processing but also after their completion (final disposition). During this period, the location where the documents are stored is also referred to as a registry or interim archive. The duration of retention is governed by statutory or practical regulations and is set out in the retention policy. At this stage, the documents do not yet constitute an archive collection.
At the end of the retention period, the records held are offered to the University Archives (see ‘Offering (paper) documents’), which, following a review by the archive management, either authorises the record-keeping departments to destroy (dispose of) the documents or accepts them into the archive. It is only at the moment of acceptance that the documents become archival material, subject to specific legal conditions regarding protection and use. Types of records that are generally not accepted by the archive may be destroyed by the record-keeping department without prior submission, subject to general destruction authorisations (see Overview of destruction authorisations).
Retention and archiving policies
The Regulations on the Retention, Disposal, Archiving and Destruction of Documents set out the current rules governing the retention and submission of records. During the course of the implementation project, additions are planned regarding specific retention periods for digital records and the use of the archives.
An overview of the retention periods recommended by the AG Hochschularchive NRW for other types of documents, as well as the archives’ acquisition practices, can be found here. Please note, however, that the assessment of the documents offered lies solely with the University Archives.