The Archives Department is unable to provide records management services or storage for inactive university records scheduled for temporary retention. To assist campus units in managing these records, the UWM has established a contract with C.H. Coakley, a commercial vendor that specializes in secure records storage, efficient and reliable records delivery, and confidential records destruction. Coakley is the only commercial vendor approved by UWM. Campus units may establish individual accounts with Coakley. Contact UWM’s Procurement Office for information about current fees and service charges.
Although the Archives is unable to provide services or storage for inactive records scheduled for temporary retention, we are still administratively responsible for ensuring that UWM’s records are handled according to campus policies, and state and federal legislation. It is important that campus units include the Archives in decisions regarding off-site storage and management of university records.
Off-Site Records Storage
UWM is now housing records designated for off-site storage in the Coakley records storage facility. To facilitate transferring records to Coakley, Campus units should take the following steps:
- Make sure the records are inactive (i.e., not consulted by your campus unit on a regular basis).
- Call the Archives to ensure that the records are covered by a Records Retention/Disposition Authorization (RRDA). If the records are not covered by a current RRDA, Archives staff will help you create one. The scheduling of State agency records is a statutory requirement.
- Create an inventory of records to be transferred to off-site storage. Depending on your usage needs, this may be a folder-level inventory or a box-level inventory.
- Label your boxes appropriately. See the Boxing and Labeling guidelines for more information.
- Once you have completed the above, please contact Purchasing for next steps.