Archives

Policy Details

Policy Number:
SAAP 13-01
Original Approval Date:
March 28, 1988
Last Revision Date:
March 28, 1988
Authority:
Wis. Stats. sec. 16.62(13)(b), UWM Administration
Initiator:
Provost
Responsible Party:
Director of UWM Libraries

Contact

Questions regarding the interpretation of this policy should be directed to:

Libraries

Policy

  1. The university archivist is responsible for records which have been transferred to the Archives Department. The archivist or designee advises departmental and other administrative officers on the control and disposition of all records as defined by state law. The university legal custodian of records, however, has final authority with respect to the disclosure of records under Wisconsin Public Records Law. 
  2. The Archives accepts and directly manages only those records scheduled for permanent retention under a current Records Retention and Disposition Authority (RRDA). When the administrative officer of a department or other office desires to deposit records scheduled for permanent retention in the Archives, the officer first consults with the archivist to make arrangements for proper packing and transfer. In the case of electronic records transfers, the archivist may suggest appropriate file formats and transfer media. 
  3. No department or other office may destroy any records without a current RRDA or the permission of the archivist. The archivist consults with the State Public Records Board to establish retention schedules (memorialized as RRDAs) for either specific units or functional categories of records, such as administrative or financial records. This board meets four times annually so departments and offices wishing to destroy or discard records should plan well in advance if a current RRDA does not govern such records. 
  4. University records transferred to the Archives may be temporarily or indefinitely returned to the office of origin for use following established Archives guidelines. Nevertheless, the Archives strongly encourages offices to access records in the Archives instead of having them returned, or to create reference copies, when the information is required for an extended period of time. 
  5. University offices may specify whether records transferred to the Archives may be freely used by other persons or restricted in their use. The Archives will refer requests to access restricted university records to the relevant university office. When a request is not approved, the formal denial of access must be reviewed and either confirmed or overruled by the university’s legal custodian of records in writing. 
  6. Restricted university records are closed for research purposes. The Archives will not redact restricted university records to facilitate access unless it is expressly permitted to do so by the office of origin or legal custodian of records. 
  7. Policies Governing Use of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Archives 
    1. The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee maintains archives to preserve the historical records of the university, to facilitate efficient records management, and to serve historical research and scholarship. All university records, including those housed in the Archives, are by statute under the control of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. 
    2. Records currently in the possession of the various university offices and not housed in the Archives are under the immediate physical custody of the offices concerned rather than the university archivist. Upon request, the archivist will endeavor to secure specific current records or true copies of same for use by researchers in the Archives subject to the provisions of the Wisconsin Public Records Law, the general guidelines outlined above, and any other policies that may be established by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System or the university administration governing the use of university records. Such requests to the archives staff must be for specific records because the archivist staff cannot handle general requests for indiscriminate inspection of all kinds of current files. 
    3. The facilities and services of the archives are intended for the use of University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee staff in its operation of the university as well as the use of faculty and students as a resource and partner in university instruction. Research in the archives by others is welcomed, subject to available resources and the Wisconsin Public Records Law. 

Policy History

March 28, 1988
Reviewed
April 1, 2015
Reviewed
September 1, 2020
Reviewed