{"id":8836,"date":"2019-09-11T10:04:56","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T14:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8836"},"modified":"2019-09-11T12:34:38","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T16:34:38","slug":"shared-custody-working-in-university-records-management-and-special-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8836","title":{"rendered":"Shared Custody &#8211; Working in University Records Management and Special Collections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>This post was written by Lana Mason, Records Management Assistant and Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History at George Mason University. Lana was the recipient of the <a href=\"https:\/\/library.gmu.edu\/support\/endowments\/studentassistant\">University Libraries Student Assistant Scholarship<\/a> for the 2018-19 academic year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nSince I began at George Mason University (GMU), I\u2019ve been working as a\nprocessing assistant at the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC). During\nthat time, I\u2019ve become familiar with standard archival policies and procedures,\nand have worked on a variety of projects aimed at making our historical\nmaterials more accessible to the public. For the past few months, I have also\nbeen working as an assistant with University Records Management (URM). Working\nwith URM has been an educational experience in how institutional records are\nhandled, and has taught me a lot of useful information about the way the\nuniversity itself functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nDuring my time as a URM assistant, I\u2019ve learned both what records management is,\nas well as how it differs from archives. Records management deals specifically\nwith documents produced by institutions or individuals as part of the functioning\nof an organization\u2014in the case of GMU, records produced range from exam answer\nsheets to immunization forms to staff evaluations. These records are stored for\nset periods of time based on the type of information contained in them. These\ntime periods are called retention schedules that, in the Commonwealth of\nVirginia, are legally defined and regulated by the Library of Virginia.<a href=\"#_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Once the end of their\nretention period is reached, records are confidentially disposed of in order to\nkeep the information present in them secure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nprimary difference I\u2019ve become aware of between archives and records management\nis how the two fields approach accessibility. Within the archives, most if not\nall work is focused on making materials available for the public to use. That\ncan mean, for example, producing a finding aid so that the contents of a\ncollection are easily searchable, or digitizing materials so they can be viewed\nonline and not just in person. However, in records management, the materials are\nby nature highly confidential because they contain sensitive information, such\nas financial transactions or personally identifiable information (PII) like social\nsecurity numbers. Therefore, work is focused on keeping records safe and <em>in<\/em>accessible. Records are typically\naccessed infrequently, usually to satisfy an official or legal need, like Freedom\nof Information Act (FOIA) requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At GMU,\nthe university\u2019s records\u2014produced by every office and department on campus\u2014are collectively\nhoused within an on-campus warehouse. URM currently holds over 13,000 records boxes\nranging in dates from as far back as the late 1970s up to the present day. My\ntasks have primarily been focused on ensuring that records are taken in, loaned\nout when needed, and securely disposed of at the end of their lifespans. Consequently,\nI spend a lot of time traveling all over campus to deliver records boxes to those\nwho wish to have their documents stored, and after the boxes have been filled,\ntaking them back to the warehouse for storage. The job involves a lot of\nphysical labor\u2014each box when full can weigh up to about 40 pounds, and many\noffices will typically have at least a few boxes to be stored at a time. URM\ndisposes of records through the use of confidential shredding. These shreds are\ndone in bulk, with several hundred records boxes disposed of at a time; another\nphysically demanding task. I definitely get my exercise for the day in when I\nwork at URM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Working\nwith URM is a very different experience than working with SCRC, but the two\njobs are complementary to each other in many ways. The work can certainly be physically\nexhausting at times, but I enjoy being active and helping the staff on campus\nto keep their records safe and secure. It can be an incredibly satisfying\nexperience, and is one that I feel has enriched both my personal knowledge and\nskill set as well as my relationship with the university itself.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> See more information on records management and retention schedules at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lva.virginia.gov\/agencies\/records\/retention.asp\"><strong>http:\/\/www.lva.virginia.gov\/agencies\/records\/retention.asp<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>For more information on George Mason University Records Management, please visit this <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/recordsmanagement.gmu.edu\/\"><em><strong>page<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Follow Special Collections Research Center on Social Media&nbsp;<\/em>at&nbsp;our<em>&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/scrc.gmu.edu\/facebook\">Facebook<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/scrc.gmu.edu\/instagram\">Instagram<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/scrc.gmu.edu\/twitter\">Twitter<\/a>&nbsp;accounts. To search the collections&nbsp;held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our&nbsp;website&nbsp;and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail&nbsp;us at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:speccoll@gmu.edu\">speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>&nbsp;or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to&nbsp;schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post was written by Lana Mason, Records Management Assistant and Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History at George Mason University. Lana was the recipient of the University Libraries Student Assistant Scholarship for the 2018-19 academic year. 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Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History at George Mason University. 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