Guidance for internal transfers

Before transfering university records to the archive please consult these helpful hints and tips to help you look after the files, and to prepare them for transfer to the archive.

These guidelines have been developed for all staff creating digital records as part of university business, and applies to records that have an ‘archive’ retention status.

If you are unsure of the status of the records you are intending to transfer please consult with the person responsible for records management in your school/unit or contact the University Archivist, Grant Buttars (grant.buttars@ed.ac.uk).

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the:

• Records Management policy framework
• Digital Preservation policy
• Records management do’s and don’t’s checklist and interim guidance
• Information Security guidelines

Before contacting the University Archive regarding transfer of your records please follow these simple steps:

STEP 1.  Ensure digital records are fixed and final, both in their content and their format

• Please ensure that the digital record, in the original file format in which it was created, is retained and transferred to the Archive.
• Please do not convert the digital record to an alternative file format without consulting the Digital Archivist, unless this is part of your normal record creation and record keeping process.
• Please make sure that the records are complete, final, and that no further changes will be made to them.

STEP 2.  Ensure digital records are properly identified and identifiable

• Please ensure that file names are meaningful or follow a systematic and consistent naming convention. Consult guidance on file naming from the Records Management team.
• Please ensure that versions of records are easily identifiable, particularly the final version. Consult the guidance on version control from the Records Management team. If no records management procedures or record keeping system are in place for your school/department please follow the Records  Management team's interim guidance and checklist.  

STEP 3.  Organise the digital records into logical groupings

Check with your designated Record Officer or person responsible for records management in your school/unit if a record keeping system or processes are in place to ensure digital records are arrangement appropriately. If no records management procedures are in place please ensure that the interim guidance and checklist on the management of digital records has been followed. 

STEP 4.  Protect digital materials from unauthorised action

Please ensure that those creating and using the records in the course of university business are aware of and have read guidance produced by the records management and IT teams:

• records management checklist
• Records Management Introduction
• IT Systems and Records Management Requirements checklist.

If members of staff are using the records outwith university premises the guidelines on working from home should also be referred to.

Additional guidance is available to members of staff responsible for the disposal of records, which should be followed.

All creators and users should be aware of the importance of information security within the University, their responsibilities and how to protect information.

STEP 5.  Ensure you have sufficient information about the digital records

If there is no formal process for documenting the digital records that are created within your school/unit it is important that you are fully prepared to brief the Digital Archivist about the records to be transferred to the archive. Typically the archivist would need to know:

• If the records were created within a record keeping system/process, and what that system/process was
• Who has responsibility over the records (person, school, unit, committee etc)
• Who created the records (person/role)
• A description of what the records are
• The purpose of the records
• How the records are being used
• If sensitive or personal data is present or likely to be present in any/all of the records
• What permissions should be applied to the records, once in the custody of the Archive. Should the records be closed or open to the public? (if partially open please indicate to whom access should be given), and if there are closure periods to be applied to those records.