(Click on each document to access the WORD document.) This records managementsystem seems to work well.There are two key elements to the system…An on-going index with color coding and

• Color Coded box labels•• I will start out with the Color Coded box labels.

These work out really well because if anyoneputs a box in our Archives room that I have notentered in my index, it shows up quitedistinctly.

• I developed these labels so that they would be easy toread and so specific department boxes could be locatedquickly.

• Each department has a different color label.

• As you can see I have the Department listed on the boxalong with the contents and the destroy date (which Idetermine with the retention schedule).

• A nice thing about these labels and printing them out isthe readability of them. Some labels in our Archives havea detailed list of items inside the box.

• If you will look at the label for COURT, you will see I haveadded additional information on the bottom regardingretention time.

•A bonus is that these labels make the boxes reusablebecause when the contents are destroyed you simply pullthe label off the box, replace it with THIS label which is theTemporary Label and put it where departments can retrieveit and fill it up for the next cycle.

Procedure:When a department needs to store files in our temporarystorage archives, they place items in a box with theTEMPORARY label taped to the front. They fill in the blankson the Temporary Label, which gives me the information Ineed to make

the color coded label. The boxes are brought to my office andI print out the label and fill in the destruct date.

• I then access the INVENTORY on my computer and enter the contents of the boxes with thedestruct date in the inventory. This works really well for two reasons:

• When someone comes to me to ask if something is in archives, I can just look on mycomputer. I use the “find” tool a lot. I can then go into the archives room knowing that I willfind the box.

• The inventory is an excellent way to be sure I purge boxes on schedule. You will notice on theinventory different colored fonts. The red fonts indicate purged boxes.

• With this mechanism in place, I can look for something that has been archived, and if it hasbeen destroyed, I don’t have to look through a bunch of destruct records to find it. It remainson the index permanently but the font is in red.

• Every year, I go through the index after purging boxes, change the fonts to red, fill in the datefor boxes I have destroyed and then mark the boxes to be destroyed next in blue so that inJanuary when I do my purge, I can take the index into archives and pull those boxes. Thisgives me a double check with the labels and the index.

Approval:The final component of records management and destruction isgetting the approval for destruction and keeping a record of thatapproval.I use the Records Destruction Form for that and I store these in aseparate notebook divided with tabs for each department.That way I have a record of the department head approval.These would be cumbersome to use if they were the only record ofdestruction. The inventory, however, is a simple, easily accessiblesource of information.

• RECORDS DESTRUCTION REQUEST

Section 1- REQUEST: (Deputy City Recorder)Number of Boxes:How Marked:

Minimum Retention Period:OAR Retention No. 166-200-Brief Description of Records to be destroyed:

Section 2: DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:

Department Head Approval:

SignatureDate:COMMENTS:

Section 3: CERTIFICATE OF DESTRUCTION:

Destroyed by:

SignatureDate:Description of Destruction

(Shred, Recycle, Other)

• I have this same method in place with our Agreement File.• We have only three file drawers for agreements, so when

the drawers get full, I take the oldest ones out and storethem in a box in our archive room until their destruct datecomes around.

• Notice on the agreement inventory that the blue fontindicates “Archive Box” for location.

• I purge these annually, which is noted on the box labeland, again, change the font to red on the inventory andadd the destroy date after destruction.