Whether someone creates a document, you receive an email, or a colleague generates a report, these moments are examples of when a record enters your system and begins its lifecycle.

Use and Dissemination

This stage of the lifecycle includes the frequent accessing, sharing, referencing, and updating of any record in the course of business.

Retention

Record retention is simply maintaining records until you can safely get rid of them.

Every type of record has a specific length of time that you need to maintain it. The Records Management Policy Committee bases the timelines on legal requirements, business needs, and historical value. For example, we keep financial records for seven years from the creation date, while we permanently keep meeting minutes.

For help with records specific to your office or department, please contact Records Management.

We offer deliveries to and from the Library Collections and Services Facility on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you have an urgent need to deliver records on a Tuesday or Thursday, please contact us to ask about special delivery.

Disposition

The end of the line! Once a record fulfills its purpose and meets its retention requirements, it's time to say, “Goodbye.” At this stage, there are two possible outcomes for a record:

• permanent preservation (transferred to archives for historical value or legal requirements)
• secure destruction (shredded or deleted to protect sensitive or confidential information)

Archiving Records

​​The Archives were established in 1928 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and making Dartmouth’s historic records available for research. More recently, the Archives has also become the repository for other permanent institutional records maintained for administrative or fiscal purposes. The Archives support research by Dartmouth administrative offices, alumni, students, and outside researchers working on the history of Dartmouth and higher education. The Dartmouth community heavily uses the Archives to support instruction across academic disciplines. 

Please contact us to learn if your records need transferring to the Archives. 

Discover more about what defines a record as historical by viewing the Archives Selection Policy.

Shred Program

Our Confidential Monthly Destruction Program makes it as easy as possible for your departments to securely and regularly dispose of confidential materials that Dartmouth doesn’t consider official records.