Sort it out!

Everyone has records of one sort or another. Many of these do not need to be kept. You can't keep everything, but here are some hints about what you should keep. It doesn't have to be old to be kept. Consider how useful something may be after 10, 20 or 50 years.

For organisations

Many organisations accumulate records but don't have a system for their selection or long-term storage. Understandably, they are more interested in the treatment of leprosy today than keeping archives. This makes life much more difficult for anyone wanting to do research later.

Have a system for keeping and for throwing out records. This should involve regular sorting and storage of files by an appointed person. Ideally this should be introduced after consultation with a qualified archivist/records manager.

The following guidelines give an idea of the main types of records that any organisation should consider preserving permanently. All these can be in either paper or electronic format (if regularly updated) or both.

Have a system for keeping and for throwing out records.  This should involve regular sorting and storage of files by an appointed person

• minutes of boards/committees

• departmental and administrative papers

• annual reports/special reports

• financial records/annual audited accounts

• legal agreements/contracts etc.

• building works/plans

• key policy files/correspondence

• management records

• papers relating to important events

• relations with government, WHO/ILA/ILEP members, charitable, religious or other institutions

• press/media contacts including press releases

• publicity material

• newspaper clippings

For Personal Papers

What should be kept depends on the person and the importance of their work. Often, however, papers of great value to researchers are to be found in unlikely places. The following are general guidelines for the kinds of papers that may be worth preserving:

• letters to/from colleagues/organisations and possibly family (including letters of congratulation/condolence etc.)

• records kept as a member of committees/organisations (not necessarily just minutes and agenda but related documents and reports).

• legal records, ownership of property, finances etc.

• records relating to appointments, degrees, honours, awards, career in general

Remember to make a list of anything you decide to throw away

• diaries, especially if not simply appointments/lists

• calculations and data for published papers

• research notebooks, memoranda, research notes, project papers

• lectures, talks, speeches, broadcasts and unpublished papers including draft articles

• drawings, photographs, film, tape recordings

• list of publications/CV

It is best to take advice from an archivist or records manager (contact either your national archives or a local archive) before throwing anything away. A few general points however are given below. Also, remember to make a list of anything you decide to throw away; not only will it help future researchers to know what was there, but it will also form the basis for knowing what to throw away in the future.

Most of the following can be thrown away, but only after it has been carefully checked:

• duplicate copies of reports, publications etc. (but bear in mind they may be useful to another institution)

• manuscripts of published papers (keep only if the text is very different from the published work)

• multiple drafts of anything (unless the development of an idea or work is of key importance. Depending on the person/institution, it may not be necessary to keep even one copy, although a list of publications is always useful)

• fully published data (but in some cases samples or significant experiments may be saved)

• page and galley proofs

• routine/daily correspondence and papers e.g. arrangements for travel, cheque stubs, all the paperwork associated with attendance at one meeting

• printed matter circulated for conferences etc.

• appointment diaries (unless the person is very famous and likely to be the subject of a biography)

• agenda papers /miscellaneous committee records and circulars (unless it is the formal record of the event)

• references

• offprints of articles by others (but not if part of a group of related papers e.g. part of a research topic or included amongst correspondence with the author, or if the publication is rare or hard to obtain.