Does Your Storage Area Look Like This?

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Does Your Storage Area Look Like This?
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Or Perhaps This?
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Just Imagine You Receive A Request To View
Records Under The Freedom Of Information Act And
Your Records Were Stored Like Those In Pictures
You Just Saw

• So how should we store our records?

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What Is The Ideal Temperature Humidity For
Records Storage?

• The ideal temperature and humidity for records
  storage is 64 degrees Fahrenheit with a variance
  of only 3 degrees in a 30 day period and a
  humidity of 40 plus or minus 3 in a 30 day
  period

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Storing Blueprints
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Blueprints

• Blueprints can fade rapidly if exposed to office
  lights.
• If at all possible store flat or vertically in
  specially designed map/blueprint cabinets.

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Temperature and Humidity

• Large swings in temperature and humidity can take
  years off the life of your records.
• So if you cannot store your records in a room
  with the ideal conditions, at least try to keep
  the temperature and humidity stable.

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Effects of Humidity

• High humidity can cause mold spores to activate
  hot and dry conditions can result in brittle
  documents.

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Tips on Records Storage

• Take pro-active measures to prevent future
  damages to your records

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Storage of Records in Basements

• If you must store records in a basement that
  might have seepage, place the records in boxes on
  shelves or on pallets if possible.

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Storing Records on Pallets

• Plastic pallets are preferable however,
  sometimes you can find free wooden pallets that
  can be covered with inexpensive plastic sheeting.

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Storage of Records on Basement Floors

• If you cannot afford pallets or shelving units
  that would keep records off of a damp floor,
  loosely wrap the outside of the boxes with clear
  plastic.
• If the boxes do get wet, take the records out of
  the damp boxes as soon as possible.

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Chemicals Hazardous Materials

• Never store records near hazardous chemicals or
  flammable materials, that if spilled would stain
  or otherwise damage your records.

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Records Storage

• Attics can easily reach a temperature of 100
  degrees in the summer months in Illinois.
• If at all possible store records in another
  location.
• Also, attics frequently have mice and sometimes
  bird droppings.

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Records Storage

• If records are stored in areas where the roof
  leaks on occasion, cover the tops of the boxes or
  filing cabinets with plastic.
• If at all possible do not store records near
  water heaters.

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What Is A Good Storage Box Size?

• A box that will hold approximately 1 cubic foot
  of records is ideal.
• Typical box dimensions of a 1 cubic foot box are
  15" x 12" x 10".
• Boxes with lids and cut-outs for handles are
  preferred.

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Storing Records In Cubic Foot Size Boxes

• Legal size documents can be filed upright
  alongside the 15" side of the box
• Letter-size documents can be filed upright along
  the 12" side of the box.

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Where Can I Buy The 1 Cu. Ft. Boxes?

• Local Government Agencies may purchase the 1
  cubic feet boxes from the Illinois Department of
  Corrections, Division of Industries
• http//www.idoc.state.il.us/ (click on the link
  for Industries)

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Buying 1 Cu. Ft. Boxes

• Under the State Purchasing Act and the Illinois
  Municipal Code, purchases from Illinois
  Correctional Industries may be made without
  obtaining competitive bids .
• All Industries' products may be purchased using a
  State of Illinois Order For Delivery Form.The
  form is on the Department of Corrections website
  in Microsoft Word and in Adobe Acrobat.

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Storing Heavier Materials

• Materials of lesser dimensions such as 5" x 8" or
  4" x 6" cards and microfilm reels can also be
  stored in the standard 1 cu. ft. storage box
• Be careful not to fill it above the handles when
  packing microfilm or heavier materials.

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The Importance Of A Good Box Label

• Record Series Title
• Beginning Ending Dates
• Box Content List
• Disposal Date
• Local Records Commission Application Item
  For the Series

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Where Is The Best Place For The Box Label?

• It is important to place the box labels on the
  end, so that they can be read when stacked
  instead of on the lid or the wider side of the
  box.

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Sample Box Label
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Box Listings

• It is important to prepare a box listing before
  putting records into a storage area, so that you
  can easily retrieve a record if need be at a
  future date.

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Box Listing
Office Office Cafeteria Cafeteria Date 7/6/05
Box No. Dates Title Item Disposal Date Retention Period
05-001 01/03-02/04 Health Dept. Inspection Reports 4 June 2008 3 Yrs.
05-002 03/04-06/05 Health Dept. Inspection Reports 4 June 2008 3 Yrs.
05-003 2005 Lunch Tickets 27 June 2008 3 Yrs.

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Confidential Records

• Information security is not limited to paper
  documents.
• When disposing of records which could be used for
  identity theft or violate privacy laws use a
  cross-cut multi-media shredder which can shred
  cds, floppy disks, and paper or you might opt to
  incinerate if there are no city ordinances
  restricting such.

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Shredders

• The single greatest deterrent to identity theft
  is probably a shredder.
• There are now some inexpensive shredders out on
  the market, that will put multiple holes into
  cds that need to be disposed of.

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CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS

• Whenever possible store in a locked room or
  cabinet.

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Electronic Records

• Protect your computer records i.e. with
  firewalls, anti-spy software, passwords etc.
• Store back up records off-site.
• Could someone use a thumb drive to copy records
  off of the computer you have available to the
  public?

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Electronic Records Storage

• Take care with portable devices such as
  Blackberries
• If found could someone hack into your system or
  gain confidential company information.

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Electronic Records Storage

• Do not leave cds, thumb drives, or other record
  media with confidential information where they
  could easily be stolen.

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McAfee and Carnegie Mellon University Study

• Lost and stolen mobile devices are seen as the
  greatest security concern, with 40 percent of
  organizations having devices lost or stolen, with
  half of those containing critical business data.
• Fewer than half of device users back up their
  mobile data more frequently than on a weekly
  basis.
• Half of device users keep passwords, PIN codes or
  credit card details on mobile devices.