Record Storage

Storage space in office areas is often at a premium. Once records are no longer being accessed on a regular basis it is advisable to send them to "secondary storage" until they can finally be destroyed or sent to the University Archives.

RAMS has several records repositories within the University that can be used to alleviate your records storage pressures.

When transferring records to RAMS please keep the following in mind:

• All records transferred to RAMS for storage need to be listed to allow for easy and rapid retrieval. There is an excel spreadsheet available from RAMS for this purpose (this includes a cover sheet to assist RAMS in identifying who is responsible for the records to be transferred).
• All records need to be matched against an appropriate General Disposal Authority entry prior to transfer. This allows RAMS to determine when records in storage are ready for destruction or transfer to Archives and prevents a build up of 'expired' records.
• RAMS will notify you when records in the storage areas are due for destruction and ask whether you approve their destruction directly from RAMS. Approval will need to be signed off by the head of your unit.
• Destruction carried out by RAMS is secure and environmentally friendly.
• RAMS secondary storage areas are often stretched to capacity so we may not always be able to take your records. Please contact us well in advance to ensure sufficient space is available.
• You can retrieve records from storage whenever necessary. However, keep in mind that records transferred to secondary storage should only need to be accessed occasionally. If you find you are accessing records regularly it may be advisable to keep them within your office area.
• Transfer of records to RAMS for secondary storage is not mandatory. It is a service provided to assist you with your records storage needs