Procedures for the Transfer of State Agency Records
The SRC uses a computerized database system which blends information from each agency's program Records Schedule (SCHEDS) with tracking information on previously transferred records (FAIDS). Certain portions of this blended information are extracted by the computer and used in printing each specific, records series-related Records Transfer Request Form (RC-2), as well as printing the appropriate number of box labels. It is imperative that you provide the SRC with the correct item number from your records schedule. Records covered by the General Schedule will not be accepted for transfer.
Transferring Records Check List
Please do the following in this order:
Check your program Records Schedule to verify the records series' Item Number and Disposition Instructions. If the series is to be transferred, check to see if the time limit/guidelines have been met. Note if there are any steps you need to take care of in-agency (such as removing portions of some files, or preparing the records for microfilming) before contacting the SRC to initiate a transfer request. Determine how many cubic feet (how many boxes) of records you need to transfer.
Once you have this information on hand, call the SRC at: (919) 807-7370.
Provide your name, agency, building / room number, street address, and phone number.
Provide the Item Number (from the Records Schedule) for the records to be transferred. Tell us how many boxes, box tape and labels you need to prepare the records for transfer. Most agencies use a standard cubic foot box (Letter box), or know from previous transfers if they will need a different size of box (such as a Check box or IBM box). Note: There is a nominal charge for boxes, tape, and labels. The SRC staff will fill out an Order Form for your signature, signifying that you have initiated the request and are aware your agency will be billed for the cost of the boxes and supplies. The SRC staff may elect to mail or FAX this order to you for signing and returning.
Upon return receipt of the completed Order Form, a Records Transfer Request Form (RC-2), and box labels will be generated by computer (an overnight process). For agencies within Raleigh city limits, the boxes, labels, and transfer form will be delivered as soon as possible. Out-of-town agencies must make arrangements to pick up their boxes and tape, but the labels and form can be mailed as necessary. Note:If you need boxes, etc., immediately, you must arrange to pick them up.
When your boxes are packed, labeled and numbered, [for more detailed instructions see How to Box Records for Transfer to the State Records Center] and ready for transfer/pick up, complete Items 7, 12, 13, and 14 on the Records Transfer Request Form. Make a copy for your files, and send the original to the SRC. If you FAX the form back to the SRC, keep the original with the boxes of records awaiting transfer. Note: Only records packed in Records Center boxes will be accepted for storage in the SRC. Boxes which do not comply with instructions shall be not be accepted for storage.
The SRC staff will contact in-town agencies prior to arriving to pick up the records transfer. Out-of-town agencies should make arrangements to bring their records to the SRC. Please DO NOT send records via the State Courier Service-they have no way of tracking your shipment if it gets lost. If you must use the Courier Service, we ask that you notify us in advance of your intentions, so we can be on the lookout for the shipment.
All boxes which are delivered to the SRC by agencies must be properly prepared, have complete paperwork, and be loaded in numerical box order so as to offload in reverse box order.
This checklist is based on NC Administrative Code, Title 7, Chapter 4, Subchapter M, Section .0503 (amended April 1, 2001).
For more information about boxing supply fees and how to box records for storage,
please consult our Transferring Records page.
Reference and Retrieval Services for State Agencies
When records are stored in the State Records Center, they remain in the custody
of the office that created the records. These records are accessible to the
creating agency and, unless restricted by statute, that agency may grant access to the public. Access may be granted only by the originating agency.
Records transferred from the State Records Center to the custody of the
North Carolina State Archives are also accessible to the public unless restricted by statute.
Reference and retrival services for records stored in the State Records Center or an off-site storage facility may be obtained by one of the following methods:
For contact information, please visit our About Us page.
Out-of-town agencies
Requests must be from the agency which created the records. Requests will be filled and returned by either Mail Service Center/ Interoffice or U.S. Postal Service to the requesting agency. In
certain instances, an out-of-town agency may prefer using State Courier Service for retrieved records,
but must be aware there is no systematic tracking of items sent via courier. If the agency's staff
intends to visit the SRC office to view the records in person, please note that on the form.
Agencies within the Raleigh city limits
The requested files will be pulled and the agencies' staff
will be called and informed that the requested files are ready for personal pick-up. No records will be
given out to anyone other than the requestor, unless the requestor has identified a designee. All
visitors coming to pick up records must register with the receptionist in the lobby and show a valid
state agency ID badge.
Priority or Emergency requests
Complete a Records Retrieval Form (RC-14) and bring it in person to the SRC office at 215 North Blount Street. SRC staff will fill the request as soon as
possible.
Records research visits (Non-Emergency requests)
Visitors wishing to use records stored in the State Records Center are urged to call in advance so the records can be pulled and ready for use upon the researcher's arrival. If the researcher is not an employee of the agency which created the records needed, the researcher must receive written
permission from the agency allowing the use of the files. This written permission must include all information needed to retrieve the materials, and the agency should also complete a Records Retrieval Form (RC-14) for the records series in question.
Note: Visitors must bring their
permission letter and the RC-14 form with them when conducting research at the SRC. All research requests without written permission from the creating agency will be denied.
The Records Retrieval Form (RC-14) must include:
The requester's name, full agency information, and telephone number.
The requester's building and room number and/or address.
Indicate if the records or information should be mailed, picked-up, or a call placed to the requester concerning the material.
The Item number(s) from the agency's program Records Schedule.
Specific details about the records or files being requested.
In addition to providing inactive records storage for state agency records, the State Agency Services Unit of the Government Records Branch has a staff of Archivists who identify, appraise, arrange, describe, and make accessible the permanently valuable noncurrent records of state government. They ensure that all state agency records brought into the custody of the State Archives are properly preserved, protected, identified, and appraised for their legal and historical value. The permanently valuable records are arranged and described according to archival and departmental standards, practices, and procedures, and are transferred to the State Archives with such finding aids as will enable them to be used for research by staff, government employees, and the general public.
Archivists make their appraisal decisions based upon broad knowledge of the state's history; public records laws; Records Schedules; and internal unit guidelines. Records received by the State Archives are usually those no longer needed administratively by state government, but which retain legal and evidentiary value or have content of interest to genealogists and historians. Disposal of non-permanently valuable records is equally important in the appraisal process, greatly reducing the volume of records retained and enhancing the overall accessibility of records.
Records are arranged into series established by the appropriate agency's Records Schedule and merged with any previously transferred material already received from the respective state agency. During the process of arrangement, records are removed from harmful environments (e.g. staples, paper clips, rubber bands, pins, acidic folders and shucks) and placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Documents requiring conservation are also identified and arrangements are made for their treatment.
Once records have been re-foldered, they are properly labeled to ensure greater ease in accessibility by staff and researchers. Records description involves the preparation of finding aids to provide better access to records series by both Archives staff and the general public. This process also includes the creation and updating of data in automated finding aids, such as the Manuscripts and Archives Reference System (MARS). Through the creation of paper and electronic finding aids, the State Agency Services Unit is able to maintain intellectual control over governmental records transferred to the State Archives' custody.
State Agency Services Unit staff also assist in providing reference service for both governmental agencies and the general public to the unprocessed state agency records in State Archives' storage.
Consistent and routine implementation of the disposition instructions listed in these schedules provides the proper and legal foundation for the disposition of public records through destruction or transfer to the State Records Center.
Authority for these disposition instructions is contained in Chapters
121 and 132 of the
General Statutes of North Carolina. Compliance with the disposition
instructions listed in these retention schedule helps ensure conformity with
the public records laws, and allows the proper destruction of records whose
value has ended, as well as the retention of records with continuing
value. Procedures to be followed in properly disposing of records are explained
in the NC Administrative Code, Title 7, Chapter 4, Subchapter M, Section .0510
(effective May 16, 1989).
.0510 Definition of Destruction
When used in an approved records retention and disposition schedule, the
provision that records are to be destroyed means that the records are to be:
burned;
shredded or torn up so as to destroy the record content of the
documents or materials concerned;
placed in acid vats so as to reduce the paper to pulp and to
terminate the existence of the documents or materials concerned;
buried under such conditions that the record nature of the
documents or materials will be terminated; or
sold as waste paper, provided that the purchaser agrees in
writing that the documents or materials concerned will not be
resold as documents or records.
No unscheduled records in an agency’s custody should be destroyed until a Request and Approval of Unscheduled Records
Disposal form is filled out by the agency and approved by staff of the
Government Records Branch.
Records stored in the State Records Center remain in the legal custody of the creating agency and will not be destroyed until that creating agency concurs with the destruction by signing a Notice of Destruction of Records (Form 23-X). This computer-generated form is sent to agencies as their specific records series become eligible for destruction, based on the disposition instructions listed in the approved program records retention and disposition schedule.
Cost for Destruction of Inactive Records
Since September, 2002, the State Records Center (SRC) has contracted with an outside vendor for the destruction of inactive government records. The fee for recyclable records (shreddable/paper) is 25˘ per cubic foot, and for non-recyclable records (non-shreddable, non-paper) the fee may be different. The contract is reviewed annually, and those fees are subject to change. The vendor will send invoices directly to the appropriate agency, based on the following information: name of the custodial office, cubic footage removed from storage to be destroyed, name and address of person to whom the invoice should be sent.
