BRIEF

Policy Summary

This policy establishes line-management responsibility for managing scientific and operational records at Berkeley Lab. It also establishes and specifies responsibilities for:

• Employees and affiliates
• Divisions and departments
• Division Records Liaison Officers
• The Laboratory-wide Records Management Office

Who Should Read This Policy

• Employees and affiliates
• Employees with specific records management responsibilities

To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

The POLICY tab on this wiki page

Contact Information

Information Technology Policy Manager
Information Technology Division
[email protected]

POLICY

A. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to promote records and archives management to:

• Document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of projects and research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
• Keep and maintain information according to legal, fiscal, administrative, and historical needs
• Help support access to Laboratory Records

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to employees and affiliates as well as individuals with additional records management responsibilities.

C. Exceptions

Not applicable

D. Policy Statement

D.1 Employee Responsibilities

Records Management is a line-management function at Berkeley Lab. Employees and affiliates are responsible for the records management of information that they use or manage as part of their job duties. Records Liaison Officers, divisions, or departments, and the Records Management Office (RMO) can assist employees and affiliates in meeting their responsibilities for records management. Beyond general responsibilities, employees and affiliates:

• Must not dispose of or transfer Laboratory Information to another institution without consulting the RMO; information created as part of job duties is Laboratory Information and potentially a Laboratory Record
• Should not mix Laboratory Records with personal records

Read more about records on the RMO’s FAQs page.

D.2 Division and Department Requirements

1. Purpose. To establish effective management controls over the creation, maintenance, and use of records that adequately and properly document the division or department's organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions.
2. Records Management Practices. Each Berkeley Lab division or department must develop records management practices per RMO standards, procedures, and guidelines. These practices should include the following activities:
   1. Transfer of inactive records to the RMO
   2. Records Destruction practices that:
      1. Only destroy records after consulting with the RMO and according to applicable retention schedules
      2. Establish safeguards against the unauthorized removal or destruction of records; notify the RMO if unauthorized removal or destruction of records occurs or threatens to occur
      3. Ensure that document-destruction practices are suspended when litigation, governmental investigation, or an audit is pending or imminent
   3. Identify and ensure the availability of records required for disaster recovery and/or contingency planning
3. Records Liaison Officer. Each division must designate a Records Liaison Officer (RLO) who has authority and responsibility for overall coordination of records management activities. Depending on the size and needs of the division, RLOs can also be designated at the department level.

D.3 Records Liaison Officer Requirements

Records Liaison Officers should:

• Coordinate records management activities with both the Laboratory-wide program and within their division or department
• Help ensure that their division or department records program adheres to applicable laws and regulations as well as standards, procedures, and guidelines from the RMO
• Adhere to the RMO requirements for Records Liaison Officers

D.4 Records Management Office

Berkeley Lab must maintain an RMO. The RMO must:

1. Establish standards, procedures, and guidelines for the Laboratory archives and records management program per 36 CFR, Subchapter B, Records Management
   1. When scheduling records, the RMO must use applicable Department of Energy schedules.
2. Develop and maintain a system to identify, locate, and retrieve Laboratory records
3. Manage destruction moratoriums per applicable laws and regulations
4. Provide information and resources to inform Berkeley Lab employees about their records management responsibilities
5. Provide assistance to Laboratory divisions or departments to develop processes for effective records management, including disaster preparation and recovery
6. Establish requirements for Records Liaison Officers
7. Ensure that historically valuable records, including permanent records, are appropriately accessible to researchers
8. Identify, store, and assist in the display of historic Laboratory artifacts
9. Assist principal investigators with management of their scientific and technical records

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Employees must adhere to this policy. Individuals with additional records management responsibilities (employees of the RMO, division or department directors, and Records Liaison Officers) must meet additional requirements specified by this policy.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None

H. Implementing Documents

• Records Transfer Procedure
• Records Request Form
• Records Liaison Officers

I. Contact Information

Information Technology Policy Manager
Information Technology Division
[email protected]

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• DOE O 243.1B Admin Chg 1, Records Management Program
• Contract 31, Clause I.124, DEAR 970.5204-3, Access to and Ownership of Records (OCT 2014) (Deviation per policy flash 2015-23) (prev. I.080)

Other Driving Requirements

• Quality Assurance Policy, 04.03.001.000

Implementing Documents