The Archives of Michigan is directed by law to protect and preserve the most significant public records created by state government. Less than five percent of the public records created and used by state employees fall into this category. But most government offices produce some important public records that should be preserved permanently.

Books and brochures that are mass produced and distributed are preserved by the Library of Michigan. The public records collected by the Archives of Michigan include original meeting minutes, annual reports, policies, correspondence, project files and electronic databases. These records are often the only evidence about the work of state employees, how important decisions were made, and how an agency operated. These records can be invaluable to agencies when they review past decisions and plan future directions.

Public records have many forms and formats. They can be letters, memos, reports, photographs, maps, drawings, films, audio recordings, microfilm, e-mail messages, word processed documents, or computer databases. Their value often changes over time. Most records are created for a specific purpose, but many are eventually used for additional reasons. For example, census records are created to define political districts and to count the number of people in a particular area. However, census information is also used by state agencies to study everything from public health to the economy. The value of census records now seems obvious, but most early census records were destroyed because no one recognized their continuing value.

All state agencies are required to have a Records Retention and Disposal Schedule that lists individual records or records series. The schedule defines how long each record should be retained, and it explains how that retention period is divided between the creating office and the State Records Center. The State Records Center provides off-site storage for many records which are not actively used by the creating agency. Retention and disposal schedules also indicate which records have potential archival value, and when those records should be transferred to the Archives of Michigan.

Each department has a Records Management Officer (RMO) who can assist state employees with the identification and transfer of records to the State Records Center and the Archives. RMOs are responsible for requesting the creation of retention and disposal schedules, and then acquiring administrative approval for new schedules. Records analysts employed by the Records Management Services develop the actual retention and disposal schedules by consulting RMOs and state employees.

State employees should check their retention and disposal schedules on a regular basis to prevent valuable records from getting lost, damaged or destroyed. However, occasionally employees find unscheduled records (which may have archival value) in file cabinets, storage rooms, or even in the trash. The Archives of Michigan relies on state employees to let them know about these potentially valuable records so they can be properly managed (preserved or destroyed).

Questions about the services that the Archives of Michigan provides to state government agencies may be directed to:

Mark Harvey, State Archivist
Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
Department of History, Arts, and Libraries
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
(517) 373-1415 (voice)
(517) 241-1658 (fax)
harveym@michigan.gov
www.michigan.gov/hal

Updated 05/19/2006

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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