We have the records of a number of continuing historical and
genealogical
organizations as well as social and fraternal societies.   I have not
developed
retention lists or formula for these, but generally I recommend to the
Society
officers that they retain three years of their operating records before
forwarding
to our archives.   I usually encourage them to retain seven years of
their
financial records (bank records, checks, deposits, CDs, stock
transactions, etc.)
as these are generally not items we retain, but they may face
litigation, audits,
and the like.    The organization may also be subject to record
retention rules
of a parent organization (e.g. local Elks lodge, national Elks
organization).

Most of the organizations are cognizant of our goals of preserving the
history of
their organization which may mean that some of the operating paperwork
is not
pertinent to permanent preservation.   

Dean


Dean DeBolt
University Librarian, Special Collections
John C. Pace Library, University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
850-474-2213
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