Records Inventory
The purpose of a records inventory is to identify and quantify all records created or maintained by your department or office. The records inventory is used to collect information about your records including type, date range, format, volume, storage location, and applicable records series information.
The inventory is not intended to be an individual folder or document-item list, but rather an examination of groups of similar or related records referred to as a records series. Staff familiar with the creation and maintenance of the records should complete the inventory form. The information gathered during the inventory process will assist in the identification of any records not currently covered by an existing retention schedule and provides a department or office with a comprehensive list of their records.
Before beginning an inventory, a department or office should identify all possible storage locations, including but not limited to:
- On-site: private offices, closets, and records storage rooms, desktop hard drives, and shared network drives
- Off-site: record centers, commercial warehouses, and vacant buildings on campus.
Please see our comprehensive instructions (PDF) for use of the Records Inventory Spreadsheet (xlsx).