Records Management FAQs

Records are information fixed on any media. All Bowdoin employees create records as part of their work for the college, and these are considered college records.

These records can come in a variety of formats, including paper, electronic files, recordings, and email. Many of these records have only transitory value, but some have enduring value for the College and should be transferred to the Archives for permanent preservation when they are no longer in active use.

Records that document the functions or activities of college offices, departments, and programs have enduring value. For academic departments, this includes records that document planning, events, curriculum, outreach, and other activities.

Active records are records that department staff refer to regularly or that need to be retained for documentation or reporting purposes, such as for a funding agency or other external entity. Records that you know you will refer to within the next 12 months would also be considered active. These records should be retained by your department and may be transferred to the archives once they are no longer actively used.

Inactive records are records that you no longer need access to regularly, but that still may have value.

Transfer records that document your department's academic mission and co-curricular activities and that are no longer in active use to the archives. Examples include:

• Annual reports
• Department meeting minutes and agendas
• Departmental publications and newsletters
• Policy and procedure documents
• Posters, flyers, and other material promoting departmental events
• Brochures or handouts about requirements, etc.

Examples of records that are not permanent and should not come to the archives include:

• Student hiring/employment records
• Staff hiring/employment records
• Expense reports
• Student academic work (exams, papers, etc.)
• Letters of recommendation
• Invoices and receipts
• Equipment manuals
• Copies of records that were created and distributed by other offices at Bowdoin

Every department is different, and Archives staff are always glad to schedule a time to meet and discuss your records in greater detail to develop a records schedule that is tailored to your particular records. Contact us at sca@bowdoin.libanswers.com to ask a question or request a meeting.

In general, we prefer to preserve the format that the document was distributed in. For example, you may have a pdf or photoshop file of a poster that was sent out in paper. The paper version is what we would prefer to preserve in the Archives. If you are distributing a handbook as a pdf, we don't need a paper copy.

Records that are no longer needed and that do not have enduring value should be destroyed or deleted promptly. If the records contain only public information (extra copies of publications, newsletters, blank forms, posters, etc.), they can be recycled. All other records should be sent for confidential destruction using the service contracted by the Archives. Request this service by filling out this online form.

Transferring records to the Archives should be initiated by filling out a Transfer Request Form. We will be in touch with you to coordinate details on how to transfer your physical or electronic files to the Archives.

We strongly discourage keeping copies of electronic files that you have transferred to the Archives, as this can cause confusion in the future. Keeping a copy of electronic files seems like an easy thing to do, but it can create more work for both office staff and Archives staff down the road, who will then have to review and deduplicate files.

The creating office or program always has access to its own records once they are transferred to the Archives, including successor staff. To access records that have been transferred to the Archives, email sca@bowdoin.libanswers.com.

The Archives frequently handles sensitive and confidential information. These records are restricted and only made available after sufficient time has passed and after review and consultation with the originating office.

Faculty curricular and research materials are not considered college records. However, Special Collections & Archives does collect faculty papers on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the faculty member directly. Faculty that are interested in discussing preserving their papers with SC&A should contact us at sca@bowdoin.libanswers.com.