Record keeping includes the act of making and managing complete, authentic and reliable evidence of actions, transactions or decisions by creating and keeping records, data, and other information sources with their evidential value intact. Record keeping is the joint responsibility of MIT officers, faculty, and staff along with the Libraries’ staff of the Institute Archives and Records Management programs in the Department of Distinctive Collections. The Institute Archives is the programmatic function housed in the Libraries, which manages the permanent records of the Institute deemed to have significant information or evidentiary value.

The MIT Records Management Program was established in 1980 and encoded into Policy 13.4 as the mechanism for making decisions about Institute records and transferring them to the Institute Archives and fulfilling the mandate of MIT Policy 13.3 Archival Policy

All records generated or received by the various administrative and academic offices of the Institute in the conduct of their business, regardless of the form in which they are created and maintained, are the property of the Institute and constitute archival material. The records covered by this policy include official printed material, correspondence, born-digital or digitized files, record books, minutes, committee files, financial records, and associated papers. -- MIT Archival Policy

13.3 MIT Policy 13.4 Records Management Program provides for the following:

• orderly and periodic transfer of inactive Institute records from prime office storage space or inadequate remote storage to the Institute records center;
• systematic destruction of noncurrent Institute records that have outlived their administrative usefulness;
• identification of Institute records that are of sufficient and continuing administrative and historical value to warrant their transfer to and preservation in the Institute Archives;
• and assistance and advice to administrative and academic personnel about efficient record-keeping practices.

In accordance with MIT Policy, the Records Manager and Institute Archivist; the Institute’s records retention and disposition schedules; and relevant state and federal laws are intended to help you determine what types of records you have and how long they should be retained. Inactive records are files that you are no longer using to do daily business transactions. Temporary records may need to be kept for a specific duration and then destroyed. Permanent records may be transferred to the Institute Archives or kept in a secure and managed repository by the office of origin. All records are subject to legal discovery and subpoena. See Records Retention Schedules RM Program Guide.

A Records Retention Schedule is a legal document that an organization uses to determine and document decisions made about the disposition of records, usually per DLC. The schedule provides all staff the guidance needed to determine what records need to be kept, for how long and where; when records should be transferred to the Institute Archives; or when they should be securely destroyed. The Schedule also provides a citation to the basis for the disposition (MIT Policy, Federal or State law, etc.) to assist with justification and updates.

The Administrative Officer works with staff to identify the records that are created in the course of business of the unit and propose retention categories. These should be confirmed by the OGC, Institute Auditor, and other relevant offices at the Institute. The Institute Archivist and records management program staff will assist. The Institute Records Committee approves records retention schedules. The committee consists of three roles according to Policy 13.3:

• The Designee of the President
• The Cognizant Senior Officer
• The Institute Archivist

Day to day operations of managing Institute records is a shared responsibility between staff at the Institute Archives and MIT Records Management Program Liaisons. A Records Management Liaison is a member of the office designated as the point of contact, responsible for preparing boxes and sending pickup and retrieval requests. Authorized liaisons are the only persons who can send records to storage or request retrieval of stored records. Liaisons are approved by the Head of the DLC. The Records Management Program will provide:

• Orientation and training for the Records Management Liaisons.
• Assisting with the transfer of inactive records to the MIT-approved storage facility.
• Ensuring timely destruction of inactive records at the end of their life cycle.
• Identifying and acquiring records of permanent, enduring value for the Institute Archives.
• Providing general assistance to Institute offices and departments in the management of their records.

Each administrative office, academic department, research center, and lab is responsible for:

• Proper management of the records in its custody including those in records storage.
• Program directors, department heads, and other senior managerial staff are ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with federal and state law as well as with Institute policies and approving records retention and disposition schedules.
• Day-to-day responsibility for storing or retrieving records by a designated Records Management Liaison who works with the Libraries’ RM program staff.

After the retention period or on an annual basis, the office of origin contacts the Institute Archives to arrange for a transfer of records. The Institute Archivist will review the records and Records Retention Schedule (if there is one) prior to the physical/digital transfer. All transfers should include a basic inventory of the records (Folder Title, Dates, Creator, function), and whether they are digital or physical. Archives staff will assist with moving the material – either directly from Iron Mountain (if in the Records Management Program) or from an Institute location. Learn more about donating materials to MIT or contact us with questions about donating.

After the Archives receive the records, there are several steps called archival processing that the material undergoes prior to them being available for access. This may take months depending on the amount of material, complexity of arrangement, and place in queue.

All records are subject to the MIT Archival Access Policy and other MIT Information policies, in addition to MA law and Federal statutes.

The reference staff of the Libraries’ Department of Distinctive Collections can help you with locating which collections may have the material you are looking for and assist with arranging consultations to view files, or help you request digital copies of files. Learn more about how to request access to records in the Institute Archive.

You can search across the full set of collection descriptions via our online portal ArchivesSpace. The search will identify collections, descriptions, and titles of folders or documents listed. If you don’t find what you are looking for you should contact our reference staff.

In 1980 the MIT Corporation voted on the Institute records access policy. Institute archival records will normally remain closed for a maximum period of twenty (20) years from the date of their creation unless the office of origin has designated a shorter period. The only records that are closed for longer periods are:

1. Corporation and Executive Committee records – restricted for 50 yrs
2. Student records – restricted for 75 yrs
3. Personnel records – restricted for 75 yrs
4. Other records are restricted with permission of The Records Committee

In general, no. After records have been transferred to the Institute Archives, they are considered to be no longer managed by the Office of Record and are from then on administered and preserved by the staff of the Libraries. You may access and use any unrestricted material in the Institute Archives in adherence to the published rules and regulations of the Department of Distinctive Collections.

During the restricted period, Institute records will be available (in accordance with the rules and regulations of the DDC) to the office of origin and the staff of the Institute Archives (Dept. of Distinctive Collection) who are working with the material. If you need to use records during the restricted access period, contact the Institute Archives for information about how to do that.

If your office is still using records, either physical or digital, they should not yet be transferred to the Institute Archives but instead, be kept and stored locally or with the Records Management Program. Files that are in Records Management Program storage may be retrieved and temporarily given back to the office of origin for direct use.

Institute Archives: The organizational unit in the Libraries, established in 1961, is responsible for acquiring the permanent records of the Institute; the collections of the records of the Institute; and the functional unit that oversees the Records Management Program.

Department of Distinctive Collections: Libraries department within the Collections Directorate. The Institute Archives is a functional unit within the DDC.

Records Management Program: A program charged in 1980 by the MIT Corporation and housed administratively within the Libraries as laid out in MIT Policy 13.4. The purpose of the RM Program is to promote economy and efficiency in the creation, organization, maintenance, retention, use, and disposition of the Institute's official records.

MIT Record: All records generated or received by the various administrative and academic offices of the Institute in the conduct of their business, regardless of the form (physical or digital) in which they are created and maintained, are the property of the Institute and constitute archival material. The records covered by this policy include official printed material, record books, minutes, committee files, financial records, correspondence, and associated papers. MIT policy 13.3

Vital Records: Records needed to support recovery after a disaster or emergency, or records essential to protecting the assets of the organization or demonstrating its responsibilities, as well as protecting employees, students, volunteers, or the public. Vital records may be transferred to the Institute Archives or may be kept and managed by the Office of Record.

Permanent records: those that the Institute has deemed as being required by the Institute for all time. Permanent records may be transferred to the Institute Archives or may be kept and managed by the Office of Record.

Active Records: those that are in current use and generally kept close to hand. These may be the ongoing work of an office, committee, task force, or the records of departments such as the Registrar, research labs, and academic programs.

Inactive Records: those that are no longer in current use and have been given a retention time to be stored with controlled access and ongoing checks for file integrity.

Convenience copies: records and information that are generally kept for ease of access and use but the record keeper is not in the Office of Record. Convenience copies should be destroyed after active use (rather than being stored). Records Retention Schedule is a policy document that an organization uses to determine and document decisions made about the disposition of records, usually per DLC. The schedule provides the guidance needed by an office to determine what records need to be kept; for how long and where; when records should be transferred to the Institute Archives; or when they should be securely destroyed.

Archives general definition – three (3) uses of the same term

1. Materials created, received, used, and kept by a person, family, organization, or other public or private entity in the conduct of their daily work and life and preserved because they contain enduring value as evidence of and information about activities and events. Archival material is authentic, described, made accessible according to policies, and preserved along with the chain of custody data.
2. The organizational unit responsible for acquiring and preserving archival material and making those items available for use.
3. The building or other repository housing archival collections (applies to digital archives).