Records Retention Issues for Wisconsin
Public Libraries
and Public Library Systems
What records fall under Wisconsin’s public records
law?
All records created or kept
by the library or library system. The
definition of “record” does not include staff notes, drafts, and similar items
prepared for staff personal use and, in some case, drafts prepared for a staff
person’s supervisor. Also excluded are
purely personal records having no relation to the owner's public office, and
material to which access is limited by copyright, patent, or bequest. “Record” includes items in any format—paper,
computer file, recording, email, etc.
[Section 19.32(2)]
What are the general requirements relating to
retention of public records?
Municipal and county governing bodies can
adopt ordinances that provide for the destruction of obsolete public records.
However, the period of time for retention provided by these ordinances cannot
be less than seven years for most records, unless a shorter period has been set
by the Wisconsin Public Records Board. [Section 19.21(4)] Library system “official records” must be
retained at least ten years, as required by the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
[PI 6.06(4)(a)]
Tape recordings of meetings may be destroyed
90 days after the minutes have been approved and published, if the purpose of
the recording was to make written minutes of the meeting. [Section 19.21(7)]
Prior to destroying public records, you must
give the State Historical Society at least 60 days written notice. The
Historical Society may, upon application, waive this notice requirement. The
Historical Society will preserve any records it determines to be of historical
interest. [Section 19.21(4)]
The law strictly prohibits destruction of
records that are the subject of a pending or recently handled records request,
or a legal action. [Section 19.35(5)]
Could
the Public Records Board approve a general schedule for retention of common
public library records?
Yes, if the Wisconsin library community developed a general
schedule for library related records that met the minimum business needs of the
library community this document could then be submitted to the State Public
Records Board. The Board's role is to insure that the identified time frames
are long enough to meet statewide minimums [operational, audit (financial and
programmatic) and legal]. The Board also determines if the identified records
have historical value for those records that are not designated for permanent
local retention. These types of records must be forwarded to the State Archives
when no longer needed locally.
After the State Public Records Board approves
the general schedule, a library board could adopt the schedule and then send
a communication to the Board indicating their desire to adopt and follow the
general schedule. (This is the same process that was used by Wisconsin school
districts to adopt a statewide records retention schedule.)
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