Records Management Handbook
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Roles and Responsibilities
Departments and Divisions | Departmental Records Coordinators Records Creators/Custodians
The DIRECTOR, in consultation with the DIRECTOR‘S COUNCIL, is responsible for setting JLab records management policy.
The RECORDS ADMINISTRATOR is responsible for:
- Establishing standards, procedures, and guidelines for the Laboratory records management program in accordance with Jlab policy.
- Assisting Laboratory departments in developing programs for effective records management, files maintenance, records disposition, and vital records protection.
- Collecting and disseminating information on records management, technological developments, and other records management-related activities.
- Training Records Coordinators and Laboratory employees about their records responsibilities.
- Inventorying and appraising records and submitting Laboratory-specific records retention schedules to the National Archives and Records Administration.
- Assigning records retention dates according to authorized retention schedules.
- Ensuring that semi-active records are appraised for their legal, fiscal, administrative, research, and historical value, and are properly accessioned, stored, and retrieved as needed.
- Obtaining departmental written authorization to dispose of temporary records.
- Ensuring that permanent, historically valuable records are appropriately accessible to researchers.
- Conducting surveys of divisions, departments, and research groups' records management practices to ensure accountability and improve records care.
- Assisting all principal investigators with designated quality assurance records.
- Assisting Laboratory departments in Laboratory disaster preparation and recovery if records are involved.
- Identifying and archiving historic Laboratory artifacts.
- Identifying, developing, and maintaining a vital records protection program.
- Ensuring that document retention schedule/destruction practices are suspended when litigation, governmental investigation, or an audit is pending or imminent.
The INFORMATION MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE is responsible for:
- Providing decision-making guidelines about recorded information.
- Developing a lab-wide emergency and vital records program to ensure the safety of existing records in order to re-establish all vital functions of the lab in the event of a disaster.
- Promoting lab-wide knowledge of the importance of vital records.
- Establishing training guidelines to educate lab personnel regarding the identification and safeguarding of records.
The LINE MANAGER is responsible for:
- Ensuring staff follow approved procedures.
- Appointing Records Coordinators.
- With Records Coordinators, correcting reported records management deficiencies within a reasonable amount of time.
Each Laboratory DEPARTMENT/DIVISION is responsible for:
- Designating Records Coordinators responsible for overall coordination of records programs, adding the Records Coordinator duties to the individual's job description and his or her annual job evaluation, and ensuring that the Records Coordinator is trained by the Records Administrator.
- Establishing effective management controls over the creation, maintenance, and use of active records; transferring of semi-active records to the Records Administrator; and destruction of records that have reached their retention.
- Submitting records inventories to the Laboratory Records Administrator.
- Establishing safeguards against the unauthorized removal or destruction of records and notifying the Laboratory Records Administrator if removal or destruction occurs or threatens to occur.
- Providing safeguards in all records management activities for the protection of individual privacy in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations.
The DEPARTMENTAL RECORDS COORDINATOR is responsible for:
- Acting as a liaison between the Records Custodian(s) and Records Administrator and providing assistance to the Records Custodian(s) when necessary.
- Preparing and submitting Records Inventory and Disposition Schedules (RIDS) forms to the Records Administrator for review and incorporation into Laboratory Site-Specific Schedules.
- Maintaining a current and up-to-date inventory of departmental files.
- Conducting periodic clean-up and housekeeping campaigns to keep non-record materials at a minimum.
The RECORDS CREATOR / CUSTODIAN is responsible for:
- Maintaining files and/or records at the office/workplace level.
- Conducting periodic clean-out and housekeeping to keep non-record materials in the office at a minimum.
- Maintaining a current and up-to-date inventory of files kept in their offices.
- In some cases, the Records Creator/Custodian may be asked to prepare records for storage.
Records Management at Jefferson Lab
Roles and Responsibilities