Records of long-term historical and legal significance produced by University employees in the course of conducting official University business should be transferred to the archives when they are no longer needed for day-to-day administrative activities. Records will remain accessible to department staff following transfer to the archives. When necessary archives staff will work with you to address privacy and confidentiality concerns through access restrictions for third-party users.

Materials of particular interest to the archives include:

• Annual reports
• Correspondence, including email, reflecting substantive departmental activity rather than routine administrative tasks
• Audit and inspection reports
• Legal opinions and decisions
• Handbooks and manuals
• Budgets
• Meeting minutes, agendas, and background material
• Organizational charts
• Official histories
• Maps and architectural records
• Policy documents
• Mission, goals, and objectives statements
• Reports, briefing papers, and studies
• Project files
• Statistical documentation of departmental activities
• Speeches and remarks
• Two copies of all publications produced by your office or department
• Audiovisual materials, including still photographs and negatives, motion picture film, oral history interviews, audio and video tapes
• Artifacts and ephemera documenting the university's history

The University Archives collects materials regardless of format. Electronic records which fall into any of the categories listed above may, in consultatation with Archives staff, be transferred to the Archives for long-term preservation.

Items that should NOT be transferred to the archives include:

• Duplicate publications
• Publications by other departments and entities that were retained for reference purposes
• Blank forms
• Routine financial documents such as vouchers, receipts, and cancelled checks
• Routine correspondence
• Drafts or working copies of publications or reports for which a final version exists

Consult our Instructions for Preparing Material For Transfer. University Archives staff are available to assist with evaluating records for transfer to the Archives. For more information or to schedule a site visit, contact:

Daniel Hartwig, University Archivist
dhartwig@stanford.edu
650-725-1161