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Re: Public Library Receiving Early City Archives



When working with public records, one must be aware of laws regarding their
keeping.  Unlike special collections, government records are subjected to
strict rules. I generally work with such collections in Massachusetts and
New Hampshire so I did a quick search on South Carolina on the Internet to
see if your rules are similar.

In South Carolina, information about state law regarding the types of
records you have moved to your library are found at
http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/praf.htm .  The records now in your custody
are subject to the South Carolina Public Records Act (Code of South
Carolina Laws 1976, as amended, 30-1-10 through 30-1-170).   The state
records management office governs what can be done with the records and you
are required to contact them before you move, store, copy, or dispose of
your records.  I am supposing from your question that you did not receive
the state's permission to move the records out of the custody of the
departments that created them and that you are not a desinated agency
information / public records officer as designated in the SC Code.  If this
is the case, your number one priority should be to contact the state
archives and records management unit to get their guidance about your city
records program before you get too far along.  Whenever you work with
public records, it is vital to establish a relationship with your state
records management office to ensure that you are in compliance with
regulations.

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