U.S. Geological Survey - General Records Disposition Schedule

U.S. Geological Survey

General Records Disposition Schedule

Prepared by the Geographic Information Office

432-1-S1

April 2003

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S.Geological Survey

General Records Schedules (GRS) are issued by the Archivist of the United States to provide disposal authorizations for Federal administrative and scientific records common to several or all agencies of the Federal Government. They include records relating to civilian personnel, fiscal accounting, safety and security, procurement, communications, publications, printing, and other common functions. These records comprise an estimated one-third of the total volume of records created by Federal agencies. In 1978, use of the GRS was made mandatory and the disposal authorizations must be used by Federal agencies. Because these schedules are designed to cover records common to several agencies, many of the records descriptions are general.

Each agency records officer is given the choice to either use the schedules as an appendix to their agency's own printed schedule or tailor the general schedules to the agency's own particular needs and incorporate them into an agency schedule. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created it's own Records Disposition Schedule to supplement the Handbook for Managing USGS Records, 432-1-H, and this schedule should be maintained with that handbook. The USGS schedule provides the Archivist of the United States authorization for selective retention of bureau records of continuing value and destruction of records of temporary value after the expiration of a specified period of time or upon the occurrence of a specific event. The USGS schedule is the only authorized system for USGS records. Moreover, the system prescribed eliminates unnecessary records and reduces handling expenses in terms of personnel time and the quantity of supplies, equipment, and office space. It also results in uniformity in recordkeeping, which is essential to ensure retrievability and accessibility of the records regardless of personnel or organizational changes. Whether the office maintains a few or a large volume of records, they must be maintained efficiently in order to effectively retrieve them.

The USGS schedule includes a Foreword, Table of Contents, Record of Posted Changes, Information on Official Records and Personal Papers, Guidelines on how to use this Records Disposition Schedule, Changes in this Issuance, the schedule itself (Chapters 100 through 1300), a listing of Abbreviations and Definitions, Records Disposition Authorities, and an alphabetical Subject Index.

Proper implementation of the USGS schedule involves carefully applying its provisions to both permanent and temporary records. The schedule's final objective is to ensure authorized, appropriate, uniform, and timely disposition of bureau records.

For the program disciplines, regions, and offices of the USGS, this schedule is to be used together with the mission-specific schedules that have been developed for the *Geology (137K PDF file), *Geography (2.3MB PDF file), and Water disciplines. (A schedule needs to be developed to cover program records in the Biology discipline). In the event that records are not covered by this or a discipline's schedule, contact the USGS Records Management Officer or your discipline or regional Records Liaison Officer listed in this USGS Intranet website (http://internal.usgs.gov/gio/irm/fmassis2.html).

Since the recordkeeping requirements for electronic mail (e-mail) have been the subject of major litigation against the National Archives and Records Administration, a new item has been added to all of the chapters in the USGS schedule that contain records which are common to most government agencies. This item provides disposition instructions for e-mail and word processing copies that are maintained apart from the official copy, which is located elsewhere in the chapter. The other items authorize the disposition of the official copy. The e-mail and word processing records, covered by the new item in each of the chapters, are those that remain in personal and shared directories after the official copy has been produced. The electronic copies, that were used for dissemination, revision, or updating are maintained in addition to the official copy.

The previous edition of this schedule, dated January 1997, is superseded. This schedule updates records management guidance and record schedules that have been authorized by the Archivist of the United States.

The preservation of official records, whether in textual or electronic form, is extremely important in order to allow future researchers and historians access to the history of the USGS. These records must be complete, well-documented, easily accessible, protected, and arranged to best serve present and future needs.

*To view the files, you must have the Adobe Acrobat reader software installed and configured for your browser. To download the free software, go to Adobe Systems, Inc. The reader also allows you to print these files to your local printer.

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