Records Archiving Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Records and Archives

Distinguishes records from documents and archives from general storage. Provides the conceptual baseline for all subsequent archiving decisions.

Lesson 2 • Organizational Value of Archives

Examines operational, legal, historical, and evidential value of archived records. Justifies resource investment in archiving programs.

Lesson 3 • Roles and Responsibilities in Archiving

Maps stakeholder roles from records creators to archivists and compliance officers. Clarifies accountability structures that support archiving programs.

Lesson 1 • Compliance Monitoring and Reporting

Covers internal monitoring mechanisms and reporting cycles that verify archiving compliance. Prepares students to produce compliance evidence for auditors.

Lesson 2 • Audit Trails and Accountability

Explains how audit logs demonstrate compliance and support investigations. Links audit trail design to archiving system configuration.

Lesson 3 • Privacy and Confidentiality in Archives

Addresses handling of personally identifiable and sensitive information within archival collections. Connects privacy obligations to access restriction policies.

Lesson 4 • Understanding Regulatory Drivers

Surveys categories of regulation that mandate record retention, including privacy, financial, and sector-specific rules. Grounds compliance decisions in regulatory intent.

Lesson 1 • Assigning Retention Values

Teaches how to assign temporary, long-term, and permanent retention values based on appraisal outcomes. Directly feeds into retention schedule construction.

Lesson 2 • Principles of Records Classification

Introduces functional, subject, and hierarchical classification approaches. Establishes classification as the structural backbone of any archiving system.

Lesson 3 • Weeding and Disposition Decisions

Guides systematic removal of records that have met retention limits. Ensures disposition is authorized, documented, and legally defensible.

Lesson 1 • Location Tracking and Retrieval Systems

Introduces manual and automated systems for tracking physical record locations. Enables fast, accurate retrieval without disrupting storage order.

Lesson 2 • Disaster Preparedness for Physical Records

Addresses risk assessment, vital records protection, and emergency response for physical collections. Integrates with organizational business continuity planning.

Lesson 3 • Decommissioning Physical Storage Facilities

Guides the safe transfer or disposal of records when physical storage facilities close or relocate. Ensures chain of custody is maintained throughout the process.

Lesson 4 • Handling and Packaging Materials

Covers acid-free, archival-quality materials and correct handling techniques for fragile records. Prevents physical damage during routine access and transfer.

Lesson 1 • Digital Preservation Strategies

Introduces fixity checking, bit-level preservation, and active monitoring of digital collections. Ensures long-term integrity of digital archives over time.

Lesson 2 • Digital Repository Systems

Surveys repository architectures, ingest workflows, and storage redundancy models. Prepares students to select and configure appropriate repository solutions.

Lesson 3 • File Formats and Format Migration

Identifies preferred archival formats and teaches migration strategies to prevent format obsolescence. Connects format decisions to long-term accessibility planning.

Lesson 4 • Metadata Standards for Digital Archives

Covers descriptive, administrative, and preservation metadata schemas used in digital archiving. Enables interoperability and long-term discoverability of digital records.

Lesson 1 • Descriptive Elements and Standards

Covers mandatory and optional descriptive elements including scope, date, extent, and access conditions. Aligns description practice with internationally recognized standards.

Lesson 2 • Building Effective Finding Aids

Guides construction of hierarchical finding aids from collection to item level. Connects finding aid structure to user search behavior and retrieval success.

Lesson 3 • Publishing and Sharing Finding Aids

Covers online publication, aggregation portals, and linked data approaches for finding aid dissemination. Maximizes collection discoverability beyond the local institution.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Archival Description

Explains provenance, original order, and collective description as foundational descriptive principles. Distinguishes archival description from library cataloging.

Lesson 1 • Developing Access Policies

Covers open access, restricted access, and embargo frameworks for archival collections. Aligns access decisions with legal obligations and organizational policy.

Lesson 2 • Measuring Reference Service Quality

Introduces quantitative and qualitative metrics for evaluating reference and access services. Supports continuous improvement of user-facing archiving operations.

Lesson 3 • Reference Interview Techniques

Teaches structured questioning to clarify researcher needs and match them to relevant holdings. Improves retrieval accuracy and researcher satisfaction.

Lesson 1 • Strategic Alignment and Executive Communication

Teaches how to align archiving strategy with organizational goals and communicate value to leadership. Secures executive support and positions archiving as a strategic asset.

Lesson 2 • Designing an Archiving Program

Guides scoping, mandate definition, and policy development for a new or reformed archiving program. Establishes the governance foundation for all operational activities.

Lesson 3 • Vendor and Outsourcing Management

Addresses selection, contracting, and oversight of third-party archiving service providers. Maintains organizational control and compliance when outsourcing archiving functions.

Lesson 4 • Program Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

Introduces maturity models, benchmarking, and gap analysis for archiving programs. Drives evidence-based improvements to program effectiveness and efficiency.