The City and County Archive provides Records management services to Waterford City and County Council to manage its records in order to ensure that the work of the Council is property documented and available to staff and the public. You can request access to records through Freedom of Information link Freedom of Information – Waterford City & County Council .
Records Management
Life Cycle
Records Management is a three-stage life cycle:
- Current: records are stored within the offices and are frequently required by staff in order to carry out the functions of their section.
- Non-current: records become non-current when they are needed for only occasional reference or in order to meet legal or financial obligations. When records are non-current they are taken out of the offices and stored in a Records Centre.
- Archive/Dispose: records that are no longer required by the local authority are destroyed or transferred to the Archive.
Records Management Policy
Waterford City & County Council adopts a consistent, organised and transparent policy towards the records it creates and receives. We aim to achieve higher levels of efficiency and the maximum level of access to complete and accurate information on request from the public.
We are committed to ensuring the survival of records as evidence of the actions and transactions of the Council in a format that is legally acceptable as such.
A Records Management system is in operation throughout Waterford County Council managing records throughout their life cycle in accordance with an agreed retention policy; the National Retention Policy for Local Authority Records published by the Local Government Management Agency.
Records Management Policy Records Centre Procedures documentNational Retention Policy
The National Retention Policy for Local Authority Records is the Records Schedule used by Waterford City and County Council in common with other local authorities in Ireland.
It is a Records Schedule, which states how long each stage of the life cycle lasts and states whether or not the records are to be sent to the Archive or disposed of. It was drawn up by a group of Freedom of Information Officers and Local Authority Archivists in consultation with staff in the local authorities and published by the Local Government Management Services Board (now the LGMA) in 2002.
National Retention Policy for Local Authority Records
Conservation
Archives are the documentary heritage of Waterford and provide evidence of the history and development of the City and County. The City and County Archive protects the archive collections in its care by monitoring its storage areas to ensure the proper temperature and relative humidity levels are maintained, in so far as possible.
However, archives are older records which have been stored in less than ideal conditions in the past and have suffered damage as a result of poor storage and handling.
Archives have been damaged with water, fire, damp, dirt, insect infestation and mould and require conservation treatment and repair to ensure they can be accessed by people without further damage.
