What is a non-record?
If a “record” is “…any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or received…which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office…”
Then a “non-record” is any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or received that does not serve to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office. Non-records may include, but are not limited to:
- personal correspondence
- non-Ohio State publications
- Listserv® materials
- junk mail/spam
- catalogs
- journals, books, other library materials
- faculty papers (Faculty papers are the property of the faculty member, not the university and as such are not university records; however, in some cases the University Archives is interested in collecting faculty papers. For more information on our collecting policy, please visit our Disposition page...)
If one needs advice as to whether the document is a non-record or not, please contact Ohio State Legal Affairs.