Archival Services

a. Depositing Institutional Documents with the Archives

To facilitate the management of your documents and to ensure they are preserved, in keeping with the University regulation ADM-106 Archives, the Archival Services has developed a records schedule to identify all documents to archive as well as the date and the method for destroying them, if appropriate.

Individual deposit guides have also been developed for each service unit to identify the documents to deposit with the University’s archives based on your functions.

Documents are collected in August of each year. You will receive a reminder from Archival Services in May so you can prepare your files for deposit.

Steps to follow for depositing documents:

• Consult the records schedule for overall management of your documents.
• Consult the deposit guide for your service unit.
• Follow the procedure for depositing documents with the archives (see below).
• Complete the deposit slip [in French only; Excel format also available].
• Contact the Archival Services when everything is ready.

b. Procedure for Depositing Documents with the Archives

Unless otherwise indicated in the records schedule for the University’s archival documents, a three-year rule has been adopted for the management of active documents in administrative offices. Thereafter, documents must be deposited with the University’s archives. To this end, we ask that units respect the steps described below to facilitate the management of documents.

• Only original documents should be deposited with the archives by the unit responsible for creating them. Copies can be destroyed once they are no longer useful.

Once the current financial year is over, you must prepare files for their deposit with Archival Services. It is possible for you to add files other than those indicated in the schedule, where archiving of certain items seems important to you.

For physical documents

1. Contact Archival Services to obtain a deposit box and a simplified deposit guide so you can make a note of files to deposit.
2. Organize documents in chronological order (with the most recent at the front).
3. Remove paper clips and elastics (the use of staples is permitted).
4. Do not use ring binders.
5. Avoid overfilling each file (maximum 1 inch).

Identification

1. Indicate the name of the file; avoid using “miscellaneous.”
2. Use French whenever possible for bilingual documents.
3. Indicate the dates of the oldest document and the most recent document in the file.
4. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms without indicating what they mean. 

Deposit

1. When sending your files to the Archival Services, complete the deposit slip for each box.
2. Write the name of the files based on the order in which they are filed.
3. Indicate if a document is confidential or essential.
4. Send the slip by email to archives@ustpaul.ca.
5. For physical documents: Include a copy of the deposit slip with each box when it is deposited.
6. For digital documents: Use OneDrive to deposit your files, and include the deposit slip.

c. Naming Files and Documents

To simplify the classification and search of your documents, we recommend that you adhere to the following procedure:

• Naming files and documents [in French only]

d. Procedure for Borrowing Materials Internally

To borrow an administrative file internally, you must contact Archival Services by email at archives@ustpaul.ca. If it is urgent, dial extension 2013.

As a general rule, requested documents are received within 48 hours following the request.

Only persons authorized by the Director of the unit that created the document can borrow the files.

For control purposes, the person in charge of the archives when the documents are received will give you a borrowing slip to sign.

To protect the documents, the applicant is asked to respect the following rules when handling documents:

1. Do not remove the documents from your administrative unit.
2. Do not eat or drink while handling the documents.
3. Use a pencil (not a pen) to take notes.
4. Respect the fragile nature of the document; make sure you do not use excessive pressure on it.
5. Do not add, delete or modify information related to archival documents. Documents must remain intact. Any addition of notes must be written on a separate page and dated.
6. Respect the established order of documents in the file. Please advise the archivist if documents seem incorrectly organized.

Borrowed files must be returned within a reasonable time frame. If you would like to keep files for a longer time than you expected when you made your request, you must notify the manager responsible for the archives to avoid monthly reminders.

It is also possible to consult files on site after making an appointment with the Archives staff. A reading room will be made available to you during office hours.