Applying Records Schedules

How long records are retained by SLAC, either in the SLAC department, in the Federal Records Center at San Bruno, or by the Archives and History Office, are determined by established records retention schedules.  The schedules contain lists of records by name or type and are approved by the Department of Energy and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The schedules specify how long record series must be held, and when they can be destroyed or transferred to permanent storage. 

Records retention schedules are applied to records organized by record series:

Record series are units of files or documents arranged according to a filing system or kept together because they: 

• Relate to a particular subject or function 
• Result from the same activity 
• Document a specific kind of transaction 
• Take a particular physical form 
• Or have some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use (such as restrictions on access or use)

Examples of commonly stored temporary record series include: HR records of all employees who retired during the calendar year; the hard copy of all purchase orders placed during a fiscal year; the curriculum, attendees and tests pertaining to ES&H training courses for the year. Most administrative records fall into identifiable record series that often already exist by the very nature of the records themselves or the way they are kept within an office.

SLAC uses the following record schedules for the disposition of its temporary records.  Most of SLAC’s temporary administrative records fall under the DOE Administrative Records Schedule.  For records that have archival value, the DOE Research and Development Records Schedule is used.  Please refer to the Archives and History Office website for further information on archiving historical or scientific records.

DOE Administrative Records Schedules

DOE Programmatic Records Schedules

Department of Energy Records Schedules (DOERS)

Crosswalk of Schedules

Approved Site-Specific Records Schedules

It is suggested that you review the various records schedules to gain an understanding of how the schedules are organized and might be applied to records in your area.

Records Management will be happy to answer any questions on the application of the records schedules to records you would like transferred to storage or believe could be destroyed.  It is highly recommended that you check with Records Management (x2211) or the Archives and History Office (x3091) before destroying any records.

Legal destruction of SLAC’s records requires that the records be covered by an authorized records retention schedule. Records that cannot be found in the above  schedules lack an approved disposition--that is they are considered to be unscheduled records. Unscheduled records should not be destroyed without first contacting Records Management (x2211) or the Archives and History Office (x3091).

For further information on Records Management within DOE, you can access the site at:

http://cio.doe.gov/RBManagement/Records/dissched.htm
 

Last Revised: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 10:32 AM