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Adopted by the Ohio Historical Society Board of Trustees - June 19th 2000
Revised January 14, 2005
A. The Ohio Historical Society administers the State Archives for the State pursuant to R.C. 149.30(C) and 149.31, and has adopted these rules and procedures for public records transferred to the State Archives.
B. Copies of these rules and procedures shall be available to members of the public upon request.
C. The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board shall serve as an advisor to the State Archivist on issues that may arise in the application of these rules and may make recommendations for revisions to the rules to improve the operation of the State Archives.
D. The following definition shall apply to these rules:
 1. Accession -- The formal process of accepting records into the custody of the State Archives documented by recording the agency or origination, the title of the records, and the location of the records within State Archives.
2. Agency of Origination -- The agency which created the records or the agency now responsible for the function or work processes that caused the records to be created.
3. Appraisal -- The process of determining which records have continuing historical value.
4. Continuing Historical Value -- Factors considered in the determination of continuing historical value include the subject matter of the record, its usefulness to historians, researchers, genealogists and other persons who use the State Archives, its physical condition, whether it duplicates records or information in the State Archives or another archival institution, whether the record or the information contained in it has been preserved in microfilm, and whether the record or information in it has been published.
5. Custody -- Records in the possession of the State Archives.
6. Processing Discards -- Records or material accessioned but not having continuing historical value.
7. Series -- Records having the same office or person of origin which belong together because they are part of a discernable filing system, they result from the same activity, or they are of similar formats and relate to a particular function.
E. The State Archives will document receipt of records accessioned into its custody by recording the agency of origination, the title of the records and the location of the records.
F. The State Archives will process records as follows:
1. Identify the records within an accession that have continuing historical value.
2. Processing discards shall be removed from the accession and later removed from the State Archives in accordance with Paragraph N.
3. Assign those records having continuing historical value to one or more series and arrange the records within a series.
4. Select the best format for preservation and if necessary select records to be reformatted.
5. Identify records to be preserved for their exhibit value and transfer such records to the Ohio Historical Society's museum collections for such purpose.
G. The State Archives will maintain series logs, series descriptions, and series inventories for records that have been processed. Records series will be described in sufficient detail to enable researchers to select the appropriate series for use. Record inventories of each series will be completed in sufficient detail to enable researchers to select records for examination.
H. Series bibliographic records will be provided in the Historical Society's integrated information system. These bibliographic records will be prepared in accordance with standards set by the Library of Congress, the On-Line Computer Library Center (OCLC) and Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.
I. Records in the custody of the State Archives shall be made available for public inspection and copy pursuant to R.C. 149.43.
1. The State Archives shall provide public access to records in the custody of the State Archives at the main reading room of the Ohio Historical Center and the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
2. The State Archives shall adopt reasonable procedures for the security of records in its custody including registration of patrons and electronic surveillance.
3. The State Archives shall adopt reasonable procedures to protect records in its custody which by reason of their physical condition are subject to damage by improper or excessive handling.
4. Use of the records in the custody of the State Archives shall be subject to the rules for the use of the Library, which will be posted in the Reading Room.
5. The procedures and charges for obtaining copies of records in the custody of State Archives will be posted in the Reading Room and mailed or e-mailed upon request.
J. Paper records upon completion of processing will be maintained under the following conditions:
1. On steel shelving, the bottom of which is at least six inches above the floor
2. Unbound records will be kept in archival storage boxes
3. The storage area will be kept free from rodents and other vermin
4. The storage areas will be kept free from leaking water pipes and other sources of free flowing water
5. The storage area will be kept locked and barred from general public access
6. Adequate safeguards for the records against fire and other casualty will be provided
7. The storage area environment will be kept at 40% to 50% relative humidity and 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit
K. Conservation procedures will be applied to records that are retained in the original format following standard archival procedures.
L. Master negative microfilm created by the Ohio Historical Society will meet standards set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for preservation of microfilm.
1. Archival microfilm created by the Ohio Historical Society shall contain a statement of authenticity, which attests to the completeness of the filming of the record and its provenance.
2. Where records have been preserved in microfilm, the microfilm shall be considered the public record. Paper records which have been preserved in microfilm may be removed from the State Archives in accordance with Paragraph M where it is determined that no useful purpose will be served by retaining the paper record.
3. The storage of archival microfilm will meet the following standards:
(a) a relative humidity of less than 35% will be maintained
(b) a temperature of less then 65 degrees Fahrenheit will be maintained
(c) fluctuations of less than plus or minus 3% relative humidity and 5 degrees Fahrenheit within a 24 hour period will be allowed
(d) microfilm shall be wound on non-corrosive metal or inert plastic reels or cores of the type specific in ANSI standards
(e) reels shall be stored in non-corrosive metal or inert plastic cans, boxes or non acidic paper cartons in accordance with ANSI standards
M. The State Archives may remove processed records from the State Archives that it determines are no longer of continuing historical value in accordance with the following procedures:
1. The request for removal shall be submitted by the State Archives to the Ohio Historical Society's Board of Trustees for approval. Written notice of the request shall be sent to the agency of origination at least thirty days in advance of the meeting at which the request is to be considered. Any objections or comments by the agency of origination shall be submitted to the State Archivist, who will forward that objection to the Board of Trustees for its consideration.
2. If the Board of Trustees approves the request for removal, the State Archives will notify the agency of origination and give it thirty days to take possession of the records. If the agency of origination informs the State Archives that it does not want the records returned to it, or if it fails to take possession of the records within thirty days, the agency of origination shall be notified that the records have been removed from the State Archives. The records may then be transferred to another historical, genealogical, or educational organization or government agency. If no such agency or organization expresses an interest in the records within sixty days the records shall be transferred to a waste disposal company for destruction.
3. Records containing non-public records as defined by Section 149.43(A) of the ORC will not be made available for transfer to another organization or agency and will be destroyed by the State Archives in a secure manner if the agency of origination does not take possession of the records within thirty days.
N. The State Archives may remove processing discards in accordance with the following procedures:
1. The request for removal shall be submitted to the Collections Management Team of the Ohio Historical Society for approval.
2. If the Collections Management Team approves the request for removal, the State Archives will notify the agency of origination and give it thirty days to take possession of the records. If the agency of origination informs the State Archives that it does not want the records returned to it, or if it fails to take possession of the records within thirty days, the records may then be transferred to another historical, genealogical, or educational organization or governmental agency. If no such agency or organization expresses an interest in the records within sixty days the records shall be transferred to a waste disposal company for destruction.
3. Processing discards containing non-public records as defined by Section 149.43(A) of the ORC will not be made available for transfer to another organization or agency and will be destroyed by the State Archives in a secure manner if the agency of origination does not take possession of the processing discards within thirty days.
Guidelines for offsite reference requests, see http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/archlib/fees/.
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