Zoo registrars asked: What's the scoop on zoo archives? (2002)
Steven P. Johnson
Manager, Bronx Zoo Library
Wildlife Conservation Society
Member, Society of American Archivists, 1978-
These notes respond to a query posed by members of the Zoo Registrars Association: What do zoo registrars need to know about archives? And what is the deal about those boxes, anyway? In responding, my goals are as follows:
1. To define "archives" as archivists understand the term;
3. To state two principles used by archivists in the management of records;
4. To provide examples of the ways archivists describe archival records in collective terms;
5. To discuss storage of inactive records, including offsite storage;
6. To discuss the use of scanned images to preserve archives;
7. To list some sources for those special boxes and folders; and
8. Suggest methods to find zoo archives and records on the web.
Along the way, I will identify authoritative sources for obtaining additional information about the management and preservation of archives and about zoo archives which are managed in municipal and state archives and other locations outside the zoo world. My goal is to provide information which may be of practical use to the zoo registrar who is charged with doing something about the management of archival records.
For a discussion of zoo archives in particular, and their value to zoos, see my paper from the 1992 AAZPA/CAZPA conference, "Hornaday, Beebe, Crandall, and More: Archives at the New York Zoological Society," available online at www.westnet.com/~sjohnson/aazpa.htm.
For zoo registrars confronting what seems to be a large quantity of zoo archives, I recommend consultation with a professional archivist. Archivists may be located through the Society of American Archivists and through regional and local associations of archivists throughout the United States. An online directory is available at archivists.org/assoc-orgs/directory/index.asp.
Archives and archivists on the web
The professional literature of archivists and archives management occupies whole shelves of bookcases and many volumes of professional journals. The Society of American Archivists sells several dozen monographs on various aspects of archives management, including Elizabeth Yakel's excellent manual Starting an Archives (SAA, 1994). For the current SAA catalog, see http://www.archivists.org/catalog/index.asp.
SAA's site also includes many full text sources and links available to anyone, free for the downloading.
Another SAA sponsored activity is the active Archives discussion List. Anyone may subscribe or post questions to this unmoderated list; membership in SAA is not required. The Archives of the Archives discussion list are also available for searching on the web, per the following instructions distributed with every message to the Archives discussion list. If you have a specific question about archives, there is an even chance that the question was previously discussed on the archives list. If you do not find a satisfactory answer searching the Archives of the Archives List, feel free to join the list and post a query.
The following information is taken from a random message to the Archives discussion list. These instructions are included at the end of each message posted to the list.
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname↔
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
The Society of American Archivists also has a Museum Archives Section, with a separate discussion list and newsletter. Since zoos are specialized museums, the Museum Archives Section is a good place to find discussion of issues common through the museum world, such as collection documentation and exhibits. To subscribe to the low volume Museum Archives discussion list, see archivists.org/listservs/index.asp#saamus. To download issues of the Museum Archivist newsletter, visit the newsletter section of the Canadian Heritage Information Network. (The url of the newsletter page is too long to reproduce here.) Eleven issues are available as of November 2002.
The UNESCO portal for archives and archivists links to hundreds of websites on archival education and training, associations, conferences, and internet resources. The scope is international. Seewww.unesco.org/webworld/portal_archives/pages/index.shtml.
Against this background, describing "how to do archives" in a few paragraphs for an audience of zoo registrars seems an unlikely task. Zoo registrars primarily work with documentation of animals present and past, from specimen records to permits. Institutional archives potentially include records ranging from paper or electronic board minutes of governing bodies to collections of press releases and multiple file cabinets of the correspondence of curators and directors. The management of archives is not rocket science, but it is comparable to records management and librarianship, two fields which few practitioners would summarize in a several pages for use by professionals in related fields.
Nonetheless, most zoos do not have any professionals with a substantial knowledge of archives. Even most librarians know little about management practices for archives, which are substantially different from printed books and magazines or active office records. In this void, when old records become the subject of management attention in zoos and aquariums, it is natural for zoo registrars to either step forward or have the responsibility for institutional archives thrust upon them.
When professional archivists, and knowledgeable funding agencies, refer to archives, they use the word in three senses:
(1) The inactive, non-current records of an organization which are of long term value;
(2) The sum of professional and other employees, archival records, and the facility which make up an archival organization, such as the New York State Archives or Westchester County Archives or the National Archives.
(3) The facility which is used to store archival records.
The term "archives" does not include the oldest books and magazines owned by an organization, unless they happen to have been published by that organization and thus constitute part of its published archives.
Verb or noun? Why archivists don't "archive" anything.
With few exceptions, professional archivists do not use the word "archive" as a verb. The usage of "archive" as a verb apparently derives from the data processing usage: to copy computer files to offline storage or to compressed storage in a data structure (zip, arc, arj, zoo, etc.) Given the fragility of data archives, compared to paper archives, the verb form of "archive" does not have a positive connotation when it comes to long term storage of valuable information.
If you are asking a professional archivist for advice, or asking for grant money to preserve archives, and you want to improve your presentation, do not use "archive" as a verb. Talk about accessioning, describing, and preserving your archives, not about "archiving" the records.
Practice and principles
When zoo registrars asked me about dealing with archives, I initially thought they meant, how do I store the inactive records which have been thrust into my custody? What are the special boxes I need? Why do archivists still send records out for microfilming when archives when scanners and CD-ROMS are commonplace? Can I store the records in any basement room with a door that locks? Can I rent space in a self-store warehouse or send them out to a records management company?
These questions are relatively simple to answer, yet in general they miss the core of the archival mission, which is selecting and arranging and describing and providing access to the non-current, inactive records with which archivists are preoccupied and zoo registrars occasionally concerned.
As in records management, archival procedures and considerations will vary depending on the type of organization under discussion: whether it is a for-profit company or a non-profit organization or a unit of government. Any zoo may be classified in one of these three categories. If a zoo is operated by a unit of government, as is the case at the Minnesota Zoo and many other zoos, archives procedures may be mandated under city or state law.
More positively stated, a municipal or state archives may be available to provide assistance in identifying, describing, and storing records of archival value. If this public sector scenario applies to you, your involvement in archives may focus on identifying inactive, non-current records for transfer to an existing archival facility. This may also be the case in zoos which are part of organizations which have established archives, such as the Smithsonian Institution. Government or a parent organization may even provide you with those special boxes for packing inactive records. In either case, it is easier to deal with an established archival repository than to start your own.
Regardless of whether your organization is public, private or falls somewhere in between, professional archivists looking at your organization's records would apply two principles in dealing with its records:
1. Provenance
Archivists do not mingle records from different sources. Archivists view the creator of records as a key to the contents and meaning of records. For example, at the Wildlife Conservation Society archives, I do not combine the records produced by the Central Park Wildlife Center and the Bronx Zoo, even if records from each may deal with the same subject. Although the source of records usually reflects the creator of records, this is not always the case. An archives may receive records from an office which has passively held them in storage for several years or which used them for reference purposes.
When archivists are asked for information on a subject in an institution's archives, one of the first questions an archivist will ask is, who would have created or received information on that subject?
2. Original order
When records are in active use, they typically are stored in a filing system which facilitates their retrieval and reflects their creation. A common example would be correspondence files arranged alphabetically by correspondent and organized in one or two year segments. Archivists believe that the preservation of records includes preservation of their original order. If records come to the archives arranged by name of correspondent, archivists will not rearrange the correspondence by subject or rearrange it in chronological order. In the electronic age, this principle has become somewhat less important, since images of original records are so easy to produce and rearrange. In terms of database records, fixed original order may not exist.
Note also that preservation of original order does not mean preservation of original disorder. If disordered records come to an archives, the archivist normally does not have a mandate to perpetuate misfiled or unfiled records. (Whether there is time or money to refile many poorly filed records is another question.)
Archivists describe records at a collective level, rather than an individual, level. Archivists usually talk about description at the record group or series level, which corresponds to what many people call the collection level. After records are described at the series level, more detailed finding aids may be provided at the folder or other sub-series level. Archivists do not describe records at the item level except in the case of particularly important items or in cases where one item represents the entire series.
This perspective is different from that of librarians, who typically catalog one book title at a time, or zoo registrars, who work primarily with records of individual animals or individual shipments.
Examples of collective description
1. Series level description applied to records of the old Central Park Zoo, now at the New York City Municipal Archives. This record was retrieved from the NUCMC gateway to RLIN, discussed below.
Author: New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Parks and Recreation
Central Park Zoo.
Title: Vital statistical records: Zoo animals, 1929-1980.
Description: .5 cubic feet.
Notes: Series is comprised of the vital statistical
records of the animal inhabitants of the Central Park Zoo.
The records, in the form of 5 x 8 inch cards, provide on the
recto the following information: English name, Latin name,
given name, native habitat, birthplace, sex, date of birth,
overall color, color on back, belly, tail, and face as well
as "Distinguishing pecularities." Other data, continued on
the verso, includes date of action or treatment,
veterinarian, and remarks. Additional data may include
donor, purchase, cost, and value as well as transfer, sales,
and trades information.
New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Parks and Recreation. Central Park Zoo. Vital
Statistical Records: Zoo Animals, 1929-1980. NYC Municipal Archives.
Subjects: Central Park (New York, N.Y.)
Local government -- New York (N.Y.)
Municipal government -- New York (N.Y.)
Children's zoos -- New York (N.Y.)
Zoo animals -- New York (N.Y.)
Zoos -- New York (N.Y.)
Wild animal collecting -- New York (N.Y.)
Municipal government records. aat
Vital statistics records. aat
Location: Municipal Archives.
NYC Dept. of Records and Information Services.
Chambers Street Room 101,
New York, N.Y. 10007.
Control No.: NYNV93-A81
This series level catalog entry for Central Park Zoo specimen records illustrates their status as public records received and described by the New York Municipal Archives. Because the record is included in a database with records for books and other library materials, the creator of the series record used standard subject headings as descriptors. The records were described as "vital statistics records" because that is a standard term obtained from the Arts and Architecture Thesaurus, a standard source used to increase uniformity of description in cataloging. The use of the thesaurus is indicated by the abbreviation "aat" after the subject heading. Another thesaurus used by libarians and archivists is the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The thesaurus most commonly used by zoo registrars is the taxonomic list issued by ISIS.
2. A folder level finding aid for the AZA archives at the Smithsonian Institution Archives is available at
http://www.si.edu/archives/archives/findingaids/fa96-024.html
Several lines suffice to show its format. A parenthetical expression such as (9f) indicates that the container includes 9 successive folders with the same file heading.
Finding Aids to Records of Professional Societies in the Smithsonian
Institution Archives
Accession 96-024
American Zoo and Aquarium Association,
Records, 1963-1992
Box 1 of 68
Animal Welfare Committee, Ken Kawata, Chair, Records, 1980-1986, one linear foot in one carton.
Committee correspondence on animal welfare issues, including roadside zoos and the pet trade, sent to AZA by Ken Kawata
Surplus animal welfare questionnaire, 1986 (binder)
AWC, 1980-1986 (7f)
Exotic Pet issue (2f)
Box 2 of 68
Species Survival Plan Committee, Records, circa 1973-1983
Shoemaker, Alan, studbook, 1981-1982
General, 1980-1981
Studbook history, background, 1978-1979
Clearinghouse questionnaire, original
Clearinghouse, memo of participation, original (filled out)
WHO Primate plan, 1981
Wagner, Robert, Executive Director, AAZPA, 1981-1983
AAZPA Legislative Committee, 1971-1980 (9 f)
Marine Mammal Protection Act, oversight hearings, 1975
A folder list may be linked to a series description or an accession record, shown below.
3. Accession record.
When records come to an archives, archivists typically record their receipt in an accession log. The accession log is different from the catalog of series descriptions and linked, more detailed descriptions. Detailed descriptions may also be linked to accession records.
Records described in a single series entry may arrived at the archives in several different accessions. Sometimes a single accession may include records which are ultimately described in two or more series entries, because they reflect more than one series or source.
This accession records describes two cubic feet of annual meeting and other movie scripts received in the archives in 1982.
Accession number: 1982-013
Date Received: 15 June 1982
Source: Tom Veltre
Quantity: 2 records cartons
Storage location: D/3/B [a code identifying storage location: aisle/section/shelf]
Title: Annual meeting film and slide scripts
Provenance: Audio Visual Department
Start Date: Circa 1949
End Date: 1979
Scope/content: Annual meeting and other film/slide show scripts and
related memoranda.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by title. Box 1: Adele
penguin-mountain gorilla. Box 2, NYZS members at home and abroad -
Zoos. Chronological memoranda, 1970-1980.
Finding aid: Folder list (title list of films).
Descriptor: Robert Haber, correspondence and memoranda, 1978-1980.
Descriptor: Motion pictures
Where to store the archives
Ideal locations for the long term storage of inactive, non-current records have the following characteristics:
1. Secure; doors are kept locked and archivist has the key; there are no outside windows;
2. Stable temperature and humidity, with minimal fluctuations over the course of a day or a year. In general, if an environment is comfortable for a human worker, it is suitable for storage of paper records. Photographs, especially color photographs, require special conditions and are not described in these notes.
3. Above ground, with no overhead water pipes.
4. Shelving appropriate to containers used for records storage. Bottom shelf several inches above floor.
5. Fire and water alarms should announce smoke, fire or water incursion.
Many zoos suffer from a chronic shortage of any storage space, much less the ideal space described above. It comes as no surprise that many zoos have at least temporarily stored their inactive records in the basements of animal installations and the space available in attics and boiler rooms.
In these circumstances, it can be difficult to make a case for setting aside and improving space for archival functions. Particularly if an institution is seeking grant funding to preserve archival records, one can move ahead by setting aside space as a institutional contribution to the project. Although "which basement" is too often the question asked about location of archives, it is also true that some basements are better than others and many basements can be improved. Flooding of basements, for example, usually has one or more causes which can be minimized by looking to root causes. Grant funded preservation surveys from organizations such as North East Document Conservation Center can help identify the faulty roof drains, window wells, and worn out pipes, etc., which cause unacceptable flooding in a basement.
If suitable space on site is not available, offsite storage perhaps can be used for a time until space on site is available.
The lowest level of offsite storage is the self-serve storage unit. The fixed monthly cost is appealing; less so is the vulnerability of the establishment to theft or fire.
In most cities, records management/storage companies offer offsite storage of paper and more recently electronic records. For the most part records management/storage companies store business records which are retained for three or five or seven years and then destroyed in accordance with a records retention plan. For most of these records, a secure location and speedy retrieval are more important than the constant environment desirable for records which one wants to preserve for decades. Typically, storage costs reflect a fixed monthly fee per cubic foot box plus the costs for any boxes retrieved, with higher prices for faster delivery and delivery of less than one box. Withdrawing boxes permanently, whether for destruction, transfer to competing records storage facility, or to the owner of the records, incurs a charge of several dollars per box.
Most records management firms offer stable environments, sometimes in former salt mines and other underground structures, for vital records, microfilm masters, and other records of long term value.
Anyone who arranges for offsite storage of records should be aware of the type of storage they are actually buying. Records storage companies often advertise their environmentally controlled facilities, but sell primarily low priced storage in uncontrolled environments.
For many modern records, even records of long term value, this storage may be adequate for the short term. Storing records offsite, whether in a records storage facility or a self store facility, may solve an immediate space problem which allow no other solution. For example, if a zoo were to store its routine business and personnel records offsite, that might create enough space on site to retain correspondence and other records of longer term value.
What About Scanning and CD-ROM as an alternative to microfilm?
Archivists and librarians are often asked, why don't you scan all those paper records to image format and get rid of the originals? And why do you bother with microfilm when no one likes to use microfilm readers?
Given the widespread use of scanning to digital image formats, and the popularity of this technique in providing increased access to information, these questions are inevitable and legitimate.
The simplest response to the question, why not just scan? is that archivists plan for long term preservation of records--fifty or one hundred or five hundred years. For preservation purposes, the stable properties of microfilm and even paper are well known. Society knows how to preserve paper records for long periods of time: store them in a constant temperature, about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, away from light and heat and water and changes in humidity. That environment is a necessary starting point for preserving microfilm.
Some additional, well documented steps are required to produce and preserve archival quality microfilm. Microfilms intended for long term use are produced from silver based film stock suitable for long term preservation purpose. The negative is developed and processed to known standards which test for the presence of chemicals which would eventually cause deterioration of the film.
Having produced a chemically stable master negative, one produces multiple generations of each microfilm: a master negative, kept locked away in the stable environment mentioned above; a duplicate negative or printing master, also stored like the master negative and used only to produce the third generation of microfilms, the user copies which are found in microfilm reading areas in libraries and archives.
Increasingly, the user copy of microfilm is replaced by a cdrom or other digital container filled with images produced from the duplicate negative: a virtual microfilm which may be accessed from a personal computer or made available on an intranet or internet.
If the user copy of a microfilm becomes damaged or is lost, a replacement copy is generated from the duplicate negative. Only in the unlikely event that the duplicate negative is damaged, does one use the master negative to produce a replacement duplicate negative.
In comparison, what we know about digital storage systems for scanned images is that the technology is not stable. The storage mediums--cdroms or magnetic tape or disk packs--continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Equipment which was state of the art ten years ago is barely usable now. New releases of software, and the ultimate, scheduled end of support for old software, mean that one must also play leap frog with the software needed to access digitally scanned recoards.
To archivists and librarians concerned with the long term preservation of records, a digital imaging project is never really complete. After the initial stage of scanning and organizing and indexing originals, one must plan to migrate the collection as hardware and then software is made obsolete. This migration is not a one time event, but a cost which will recur every five to ten years, depending on the pace of technological change and its acceptance in society.
Perenially strapped for the cash to pay for current operations and special projects, any thoughtful archivist has to be wary to moving collections to a system which must be repurchased not once but many times in the future.
My theory, and my hope, is that society as a whole will provide a solution to the archivist's migration dilemma. Government and business now maintain many information systems which must function for long periods of time. Obvious examples include records of land ownership, taxation, insurance, and individual health care. Government and business have no choice but to migrate these systems to new technologies in an economical manner. The widespread need of business and government to migrate should mean that archivists will not have to pay for the development of migration technologies. Archivists will, of course, want some input in the design of new systems, to minimize loss and maximize long term access.
Most users of records are not concerned about long term preservation. They are concerned with immediate and convenient access. Archivists do not contest the superiority of digital formats when it comes to ease of use at the desktop and suitability for web access.
Information managers have applied digital technology to the input side of microfilm creation. Computer output microfilm, in which computer files are output directly to microfilm, dates back to the nineteen fifties.
The nineteen nineties saw the introduction of hybrid microfilm-digital systems in which the microfilm camera was replaced with a scanner. These systems combine the ease of use and popularity of digital formats with the proven longevity of microfilm as a storage medium. The development of these hybrid systems is described on several web sites:
Digital to Microfilm Conversion: A Demonstration Project, 1994-1996 www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/com/comfin.html
Digital preservation: a conservator's perspective (2000) http://cpc.stanford.edu/ppt/henry-digpres/index_files/frame.htm
A hybrid systems approach to preservation of printed materials (1992) http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/willis/hybrid/index.html#toc
Conservation OnLine: Resources for Conservation Professionals
Classified bibliography of links and other resources (current) http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/imaging/
Some hybrid projects reflect a preoccupation with maintaining the role of conventional microfilm cameras for image acquisition. In the microfilm scanning model, paper records are microfilmed using conventional cameras. A master microfilm and duplicate master are produced. Instead of producing a conventional microfilm user copy, the print master film is scanned to produce a digital edition.
In the digital to microfilm model, paper records are scanned, producing a digital file. The microfilm master is produced as computer output microfilm. User copies of the digital file are produced directly from the scanned images. If the digital master becomes damaged, the microfilm is scanned to produced a new digital master.
The economies of scale of digital scanning suggest a diminishing role for microfilm technology in capturing and displaying images. Until society solves the migration problem, however, microfilm will retain a role as a storage medium whose stability is exceeded only by paper and stone tablets.
For a book length discussion on maintaining archives in digital format, see:
Gregory S. Hunter. Preserving digital information. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000. 168 pages.
For useful tables of equivalents (bytes per scanned page, cubic foot, file cabinet, etc.), technology time lines, white papers on digital document imaging and preservation, etc., see the site operated by the commercial digital imaging firm ArchiveBuilders.com, www.archivebuilders.com.
Those Special Boxes and Folders
Archivists use special, neutral or slightly alkaline buffered folders and boxes to organize and help preserve paper records. The term "archival boxes" has no standard meaning in itself. Containers used to store archives should be constructed of acid-neutral materials, in order to prevent migration of chemical contaminants from boxes and folders to their contents. These special boxes do nothing to improve the condition of their contents. They are intended to protect their contents and not do the harm which may come from substandard containers.
Paper records often come to the archives after hurried packing in any box which was convenient. Liquor boxes are a common choice, as are photocopy paper boxes. Neither box was made for long term storage of their contents; witht he passage of years, the boxes become brittle. The impurities ("acids") contained in the boxes may be transferred o their contents.
When archivists accession incoming records, they typically repack them into acid neutral cubic foot boxes. For smaller accessions, one may use smaller boxes containing two linear inches or five linear inches of paperss. In addition to serving a preservation purpose, repacking records typically saves space. Many records come to the archives in boxes which are only half full, or which contain non-archival material (magazines, supply catalogs, old purchase orders, empty file folders, etc.) It is especially common to receive transfer files ("transfiles") which are not filled to capacity. Space is wasted when less than full boxes are placed on shelving in the archives.
Repacking is also a time to check the condition of records and identify any signs of infestation by insects or mold. In the zoo environment, where records are commonly stored in the basements of installations, this is a real concern.
Information on responding to insect infestation and mold may be obtained through regional library preservation centers, such as the Northeast Document Conservation Center, http://www.nedcc.org/.
Boxes suitable for use with archival records may be purchased from several vendors, including those listed below.
Note that prices vary substantially depending on quantity purchased at one time. Estimated shipping costs should be included when calculating costs.
Conservation Resources International
8000-H Forbes Place
Springfield, VA 22151
Toll Free: (800) 634-6932
Telephone: (703) 321-7730
Fax: (703) 321-0629
http://www.conservationresources.com
Hollinger Corporation
9401 Northeast Drive
P. O. Box 8360
Fredricksburg, VA 22408
Toll Free: (800) 634-0491
Telephone: (540) 898-7300
Toll Free Fax: (800) 947-8814
E-mail: hollingercorp@erols.com
http://www.hollingercorp.com
One of the oldest firms in the trade.
Light Impressions
P. O. Box 22708
Rochester, NY 14692-2708
Toll Free: (800) 828-6216
Telephone: (716) 271-8960
Toll Free Fax: (800) 828-5539
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com
Specialist in materials for photographic archives.
Metal Edge Inc.
6340 Bandini Ave
Commerce, Ca 90040
phone: 800-862-2228
fax: 888-822-6937
http://www.metaledgeinc.com
Metal Edge also has an East Coast facility.
University Products
517 Main Street
P. O. Box 101
Holyoke, MA 01041
Toll Free: (800) 628-1912
Telephone: (413) 532-3372
Toll Free Fax: (800) 532-9281
Fax: (413) 532-9281
E-mail: custserv@archivalsuppliers.com
http://www.universityproducts.com
Although per box prices may seem high, the prices are typically no higher than for records center cartons ("Banker's Boxes") purchased from office supply stores. To get a good price for a good product requires close comparison of product materials, specifications, and unit cost for a given quantity.
Archival supplies may also be purchased from library supply companies such as Gaylord, Highsmith, and Brodart.
Finding Zoo Archives and Records on the Web
Some records from or related to zoos and aquariums have already found their way to public and private archives. Sometimes they can be identified by searching the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections at the Library of Congress. Search engines permit free searching of OCLC and RLIN databases for archival records.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html
Zoo and aquarium archives may also be identified by searching general purpose search engines such as Google. Because the word "zoo" refers to a type of compressed computer file, references to compression should be removed from the search statement to minimize irrelevant results. For example, in Google, search on
archives -extract -compressed zoo "records retention"
archives -extract -compressed zoo records
The minus sign in front of "extract" and "compressed" eliminates most records dealing with data processing and "zoo files."
http://www2.state.id.us/ishs/SHRAB%20PR%20Index.pdf
[This file is in Adobe Portable Document Format and requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to read or print the file. Adobe Acrobat is available from www.adobe.com
p6 2
State of Idaho
Records of Enduring Value
PR 4301 covers accreditation and licensor records
pr 4301 covers individual animal history files
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/pw.html#part9
Zoo section covers only Part 11:
Zoo Records
5550-01 Permits and Licenses - Permits and licenses required by law or regulation from the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U. S. Department of Interior, or other federal or state agencies. RETENTION: Expiration or termination + 3 years.
5550-02 Migratory Bird Records - Records showing the species and number of migratory birds acquired, possessed and disposed of; the names and addresses of persons from whom the birds were acquired and to whom such birds were donated or sold. RETENTION: CE + 5 years. [By regulation - 50 CFR 21.12(b).]
5550-03 Wildlife Records - Records relating to zoo wildlife, except migratory birds (see item number 5500-02).
a) Records relating to the taking, possession, transportation, sale, purchase, barter, exportation, or importation of wildlife under permit issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U. S. Department of Interior. RETENTION: Expiration of permit + 5 years. [By regulation - 50 CFR 13.46.]
b) Records relating to the euthanization of or disposal of dead zoo animals except as noted in (c). RETENTION: 1 year. [By regulation - 9 CFR 2.80(a).] (Exempt from destruction request requirement)c) Necropsy reports on dead marine mammals. RETENTION: 3 years. [By regulation - 9 CFR 3.110(g).]d) Water quality test reports for marine mammal facilities. RETENTION: 1 year. [By regulation - 9 CFR 3.106(a)(3).] (Exempt from destruction request requirement)
Copyright 2002, Steven P. Johnson
Written & posted, February 2002.
Cd-rom and imaging section added, 27 August 2002.
Minor edits, September, November 2002.
Museum Archives paragraph added, 26 November 2002.
Links fixed, 7 February 2003, 27 March 2003.