Recordkeeping In Brief 16 - Safe storage

• About this RIB
• What are the aims of the standard and why should it be implemented in the NSW public sector?
• What is the scope of the standard?
• What are the main aspects of the standard?
• Who can be contacted for more information?

About this RIB

The State Records Authority of New South Wales, known as ‘State Records’, assists public offices to implement the State Records Act 1998 by issuing standards, codes of best practice and associated guidance.

Part 2, s.11 of the Act states that ‘each public office must ensure the safe custody and proper preservation of the State’s records that it has control of.’ To help public offices meet this requirement, State Records has issued a Standard on the Storage of State Records and supporting guidance, Solutions for Storage: Guidelines on the Storage of State Records. This Recordkeeping in Brief summarises why it is important to implement the standard in public offices and the main aspects of the standard so that managers and staff in public offices may be briefed about their responsibilities.

What are the aims of the standard and why should it be implemented in the NSW public sector?

Keeping records is an important part of the responsibilities of public sector employees. Records support:

• business by providing precedents for action and evidence of services, payments, entitlements and obligations
• organisational accountability by showing whether the organisation or individuals have met their legal, organisational, social and moral obligations, and
• our culture by forming part of our historical resources available to society.

State Records' leaflet What have Records Got to do with Me? provides more information regarding the recordkeeping responsibilities of all public sector employees.

However, records are only a valuable resource to organisations if they are created and managed appropriately so that they survive and are useable for as long as they are needed.

The Standard on the Storage of State Records aims to ensure that:

• records are stored in a cost-effective manner
• records are protected, secure and accessible for as long as they are required to meet business and accountability needs and community expectations, and records of continuing value which will be transferred to State Records’ control and/or custody as State archives are stored in the best conditions possible.

By implementing the standard, which is based on national and international best practice, public offices will be able to protect and use their records as corporate assets. Storing records appropriately will also allow public offices to meet their recordkeeping requirements under the State Records Act and other acts to which they are subject.

What is the scope of the standard?

The standard covers all types of storage media (for example, paper, tapes, disks) but excludes the storage of electronic records on networks or on hard drives. These electronic records require different storage options and will be examined in separate guidance.

The standard covers records that public offices use on a day to day basis, and also those which still have business use but are not referred to as frequently. The standard also looks at what management strategies are needed for records of archival value from their creation.

What are the main aspects of the standard?

The standard is arranged according to seven broad principles and has outcome oriented minimum compliance requirements.

Location

This principle is aimed at ensuring that sites chosen for records storage are located away from known hazards. It is the responsibility of the organisation’s Corporate Records Manager (or their delegate in larger organisations) to check each storage area and ensure that it meets State Record’s requirements. Sites should:

• be weatherproof
• have good drainage
• be dedicated to the storage of records, and
• be intruder resistant and access controlled.

Employees should ensure that they do not store records in areas that are not authorised. Records should be returned to authorised storage areas as soon as possible after use.

Environmental control

This principle involves storing records in an environment which is suitable to their format and the period for which the records are required to be kept. Public offices are required to keep records in storage areas that:

• have reasonable temperature and humidity levels
• exclude direct sunlight
• have good air quality and circulation, and
• in the case of magnetic media, are free from magnetic fields.

Again, employees should ensure that records are returned to authorised storage areas after use so that they are kept in suitable environments. Care should also be taken to ensure that records are not exposed to direct sunlight or other risks while they are in use.

Shelving and packaging

This principle is to ensure the shelving, equipment and containers (boxes, file covers and wrappings) for records storage protect them from deterioration. Shelving and packaging should:

• be clean
• be in a good state of repair
• be strong enough to withstand the weight of the records
• be appropriate to the record’s format and its period of retention
• meet occupational health and safety requirements.

Employees can assist by bringing inappropriate or damaged shelving and containers, or OH&S risks to the attention of the Corporate Records Manager or their delegate. They can also ensure that records are returned carefully to their proper containers and shelving after use.

Protection from disaster

Records are often at risk from hazards like water, fire, theft, vermin and unauthorised access. This principle is designed to ensure that risks to records are either removed or managed appropriately through disaster management programs. Public offices can meet this principle by ensuring that:

• risk management exercises include the examination of records storage areas
• fire prevention/suppression measures required in the building are also applied in storage areas
• plans for reaction and recovery to likely disasters are formulated
• staff are assigned responsibilities for disaster management and trained to meet their responsibilities, and
• the causes of disasters are treated or managed and plans reviewed.

Some employees may be directly involved in risk management and disaster management programs. Regardless, all staff should know about disaster response and recovery plans for the organisation. If staff observe any risks, such as leaking pipes, faulty wiring or unsecured entrances, these should be reported to relevant personnel.

Maintenance

This principle is to ensure that records storage areas are maintained and monitored regularly to ensure that the records remain protected. Maintenance and monitoring may involve checking:

• environmental conditions
• the presence of risks
• the cleanliness of storage areas
• that equipment and fire protection mechanisms are operational, and
• for mould or pest infestation or other signs of deterioration.

Responsibility for maintenance should be coordinated by the organisation’s Corporate Records Manager or their delegate. However, employees can assist by reporting any problems or risks they observe in records storage areas.

Careful handling

Records are often damaged by poor handling practices. This principle is to ensure that:

• staff know the proper handling techniques for the record formats they use
• records are not damaged in transit
• records are handled properly when they are temporarily removed from the organisation for legitimate business purposes, such as when they are taken to court, and
• records are protected while they are being converted to other formats, for example, when they are imaged.

Employees should implement instructions from their records management staff about handling techniques. State Records also has Recordkeeping in Brief guides Recordkeeping in Brief 14: Handle with Care and Recordkeeping in Brief 15: Records in Transit.

Accessibility

Records should be stored in a way that they can be identified and retrieved easily and quickly. This principle seeks to ensure that:

• the location of the records does not impede retrieval requirements
• the public office has standard for documentation and location controls to facilitate retrieval (such as box lists and item lists), and
• equipment/technology dependent records remain accessible for as long as they are required.

Employees can assist in complying with this principle by ensuring they do not block aisles and entrances and exits to storage areas with other materials (which can impede accessibility) and by abiding by organisational rules on access to information. They can also bring any problems regarding the accessibility of information to the attention of the Corporate Records Manager or their delegate.

Who can be contacted for more information?

The organisation’s Corporate Records Manager should be the first point of contact for any questions about the organisation’s records storage facilities and programs.

In addition, the staff at State Records are happy to answer any enquiries about the Standard on the Storage of State Records or other records storage issues.

© State of New South Wales through the State Records Authority, 2000. This work may be freely reproduced and distributed for most purposes, however some restrictions apply.
ISSN 1440-3978