Before initiating the transfer, consider the restrictions your organization would like to put in place, if any. Student organizations will have relatively few restrictions, however, the privacy of students and their activities in participation with student groups is taken very seriously by SCUA. Should a student organization want to restrict some records they can include this in the Transfer Form. 

What to consider when restricting records:

• If no one can ever access the records, why are they being preserved? Restrictions should have an end date. This can include the following timelines:
  • XX number of years after the creation
  • XX number of years after graduation
• Specific materials can be restricted. If an entire transfer is restricted, it is preventing access to users. It’s recommended that restrictions are only placed on topics, folders, or documents that require it. 
• Records can also be restricted to certain groups. Similar to community collections, student records can restrict who can access them. Some examples include:
  • Only organization or group members can access
  • University Administration cannot access
  • Only Colgate students, faculty, staff, and alumni can access (i.e., not for public use)

Remember that restrictions will prevent researchers from accessing your materials, which can limit the understanding of the context in which the records were produced. 

1. When you are ready to transfer your records to SCUA start by contacting the Assistant Archivist or emailing scua@colgate.edu letting us know you would like to transfer records to the archive.
2. After reaching out to SCUA, fill out the Record Transfer Form. This is where an inventory will come in handy. 
3. If you are transferring physical materials, arrange a time to either drop off the materials or have a SCUA member pick them up. 
4. When transferring digital records, put the files in a folder (which may include all the folders you wish to transfer) and share them with the Assistant Archivist.
5. Put it in your workflow. Once you’ve made your first transfer create a transfer schedule including:
   1. How often your organization will move their records into SCUA
   2. The types of materials you will transfer
   3. Any restrictions 
   4. A link to this LibGuide or the PDF guide