Current guidelines for onsite research at Chesney Archives
Packing your records properly will help preserve the records and make it easier to find them.
Select standard sized record storage boxes. The most commonly used size is the 1.2 cubic foot box measuring 10″ x 12″ x 15″. Longer letter or legal sized boxes are also available in 2.4 or 3.6 cubic feet sizes. Use of non-standard sized boxes such as copy paper boxes may result in damage to the records and extra charges for offsite storage.
Letter-size folders should be packed facing the 12″ side of the box and legal-size folders packed facing the 15″ side. If you have a mixture of the two folder sizes, pack them facing the 15″ side. While facing them in that direction will take more space than necessary for the letter-size folders, it is better to prevent damage to the legal-size folders and records.
Leave a couple of inches of space between the last file folder and the box so that you don’t overpack the boxes. Remove any hanging file folders since they don’t fit well in the boxes and will eventually damage the box.
Pack the records in the same order they were filed in your office.
Each box should contain only one type of record. For example, don’t put things like correspondence, routine financial records, and student records in the same box. Each type of record, or series, has its own retention plan, and mixing different series may require you to keep certain records longer than is required.
The four necessary elements on a box label are:
To ease future retrieval, include an inventory of the folders contained in each box, and supply a detailed records transmittal form.