Records Management - Storage
FILING CABINETS
Lateral filing takes up about half the floor space you need for traditional filing cabinets. Do not buy any filing cabinets. Look for options which enable you to store laterally. If you have large volumes you might consider a compactus.
FOLDERS
Don't spend the groups budget on file covers unless you are prepared to match it with effective filing practices.
File folders vary in cost from about 50 cents to $10.00 each. This is a useful investment if it helps maintain files. But dont buy thick wallet style just because you have lots of paper. Chances are you are keeping the wrong material.
INDEXING
Simple Alphabetical indexing will work effectively up to the number you can easily see generally the breaking point is about 200. Past this, the number you have to squeeze into the already full shelves or drawers, militates against efficient filing.
Over 500 you should seriously consider moving to a numerical filing index.
The Universitys specialised records management software FileMaster has
been implemented using alpha numeric indexing. The three letters which
indicate your work group; school, division, unit are used as the Header.
Each Header permits a default numerical sequence of 0001 to 9999.
eg HSC/0010 indicates the Division of Health Sciences file number 10.
ARCHIVING
Archives are records requiring long term storage and preservation. The University stores its archives off-site with an external records management company. This facilitates secure storage and enables efficient retrieval. Note that before you may archive any material it will need to be clearly listed, boxed and recorded on the records management database. Contact the Records Management Team if you wish to archive University material.