Transferring Records to the University Archives

The short answer is: probably.

The Records Retention Schedule is an official policy of the University that names which records must be retained, destroyed, or archived. If your office creates any records designated on the Retention Schedule as "Send to University Archives," you must transfer them to the Archives in order to remain in compliance.

Your office may produce other records that are right for the University Archives. Contact Special Collections and Archives at archives@depaul.edu, with additional questions.

From most DePaul offices, programs, groups or officers we will collect the following:

• Meeting minutes
• Annual reports
• Special reports and surveys
• Accreditation documentation (from colleges, schools and academic departments)
• Memorabilia from DePaul events
• Photographs, where at least the date and event are known
• Records listed on the University’s official Records Retention Schedule with the designation “Send to University Archives.”
• Resources described in a set of Customized Records Guidelines that the Archives has developed for your office

Your office may produce other records that are right for the University Archives. Contact Special Collections and Archives at archives@depaul.edu, with any additional questions.

Yes! If you have electronic records to transfer, please contact Special Collections and Archives at archives@depaul.edu.

Records become a permanent part of our collections, and are subject to all the policies and procedures of the Special Collections and Archives Department. They are available to you for research in the Richardson Library, in addition to being available to the public. Records may be photocopied for other researchers, digitized and displayed online, or featured in exhibits and promotional materials, unless there are special considerations that are discussed and documented at the time of the transfer to Archives.

Yes - there are records that University Archives will not accept.

The parameters of University Archives’ collecting are broad enough to support its own mission and allow University offices to comply with related records polices, while remaining mindful of the resources needed to permanently maintain and provide access to these historical records.

University Archives reserves the right to select representative samples from record categories named in the Retention Schedule or in Archives’ collecting guidelines, as well as the right to decline records that:

• Duplicate specific records already in University Archives.
• Are merely transactional, documenting scheduling logistics, catering and space arrangements, or that do not document DePaul-related activities and functions.
• Are not named in the Records Retention Schedule or Archives collecting guidelines.
• Have unreasonable restrictions to access, whether for physical (e.g. fragility) or substantive (e.g. information content) reasons.
• Contain private data, personnel information, or are governed by laws such as HIPPAA and FERPA.
• Were transferred to Archives without documentation, including the name of the sender, adequate description of the records, or a Deed of Gift when appropriate. Materials that have not been followed by proper documentation within 6 months of receipt, or of a request for additional documentation, may be discarded.

The University Archives Transfer Form lets you decide what should happen to records that have been transferred to us, but will not be retained for the Archives. You may wish to let the Archives dispose of those records, or you may choose to have the Archives return those records to you.

In most circumstances the Archives will not accept a student's academic work, unless it supplements a transfer of records designated in our collecting guidelines (e.g. it accompanies a larger donation of faculty papers), and at the discretion of the Archivist. In those few cases, all student work must be accompanied by a Deed of Gift, signed by the student, granting explicit permission for their work to be transferred to the Archives.

Collections of papers from alumni representing their professional or personal endeavors may be accepted at the discretion of the Head of Special Collections and Archives Department. Alumni collections that do not reflect the alumna's or alumnus' connection to DePaul must meet the same criteria that would be applied to any other donor for new manuscript collections, e.g. the records would fall under one of the Department's existing collecting areas such as Catholic social justice, local community activism, or local theatre.

Questions about the University Archives may be addressed to Special Collections and Archives, archives@depaul.edu.

The Department of Records Management can also provide guidance on how long to keep your records, any legal or financial guidelines you may need to follow, or if you have questions about records policies, including the Records Retention Schedule.