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Re: User Registration Forms



     In our SAA-sponsored workshop on archival security, Rich Strassberg
     and I recommend keeping user registration forms, call slips (or other
     forms of signed receipts for material) and daily reading room sign-in
     logs permanently.  Statute-of-limitations considerations may not apply
     to stolen material transported across state lines, or to items stolen
     from certain government agencies, so a theft discovered decades after
     the fact might still be solved with the help of these records.  Each
     of these record types yields a different, and necessary, access point:
     user registration forms filed by user allow searches by name; call
     slips filed by collection name or number allow searches by what was
     used; and daily sign-in logs provide chronological access.  These
     three types of records can be used in concert to document who used
     what, and when.  For searching purposes, the databases that Michelle
     describes in her inquiry are an excellent tool.  But also retain the
     signed registration (or application forms), the call slips, and the
     sign-in logs, as these provide more solid proof that an individual had
     access to archival material.

     Don't be daunted by the fear of having to store vast amounts of
     records forever.  Both Rich and I have worked in repositories that
     typically see thousands of visitors a year.  The resulting volume of
     documents really isn't unmanageable, and if you need those records to
     prosecute a theft case long after it happened, they will be worth
     their weight in gold.

     Mimi Bowling
     Charles J. Liebman Curator of Manuscripts
     Manuscripts and Archives Division
     The New York Public Library


     ______________________________ Reply Separator
     _________________________________
     Subject: User Registration Forms
     Author:  Michelle Mumaw <MMumaw@MCC.MCCOAK.ORG> at Internet
     Date:    9/26/00 9:32 AM


     Hello,

     I need to pick the brains of more experienced archivists here.  I have
     a
     user registration form that new archives' customers complete when they
     first come here.  They also sign a sheet of rules, acknowledging that
     they've read them & agree to comply with them.  My question is, how
     long
     do I need to keep these sheets?  I input the information into an
     Access
     database for tracking purposes but at present have no way to input
     something like a record of their signature, etc.
     Additionally, each person completes a call slip when they request
     items
     from the collections.  I also input this information into access for
     tracking purposes but again, have no way to include their signature.
     How long should I keep the originals of these forms?
     I'd appreciate any advice on this.

     Thanks!


     **************************************************
     Michelle Mumaw Gage
     Archivist/Librarian
     Minnetrista Cultural Center
     & Oakhurst Gardens
     765.282.4848 ext. 168

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