The Records Management Office acts as a liaison between University offices requiring off-site storage for their records. The materials stored in an off site records center remain the property and in the custody of the depositing offices. RMO is agent for its client offices, arranging for account establishment, pickup and delivery of materials, account and billing inquiries, and advising and assisting in the management of the offices' records.
Information About Records
Information about records sent off site is maintained for the management of the clients' accounts and to facilitate RMO's role in assisting in the management of the University's information resources. All information received or collected by RMO regarding an office's records is considered confidential and is made available only to the office's authorized agents.
Special records schedules created by the Records Management Office for individual University offices are considered proprietary to those offices and confidential. The University Archives will make the contents of special records schedules available only to authorized representatives of the office for which the schedule was created or to the Office of the General Counsel in the event of subpoena or other legal requirement.
Retrieving Stored Records
RMO will retrieve records from the records center only with the express authorization of an authorized agent of the custodial office. The authorized agent must be designated in writing by the head of the office. RMO will deliver retrieved records to an office's authorized representative only. When offices have their records delivered to Pusey Library, personnel picking up the records must be authorized users, or be designated in writing by the department head. Positive identification is required. For security reasons, no records will be sent through regular US or Harvard mail.
Access to Records in the Archives
Access to records in the custody of the University Archives that are less than 50 years old, or 80 years old if they relate to individuals, may be granted only with the approval of the appropriate office or department. Once the records are beyond those periods, the Archives will normally grant access.
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