Approved September 9, 2019
The Document Retention Policy, with language recommended by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, identifies the record retention responsibilities of staff, volunteers, and members of the board of trustees for maintaining and documenting the storage and destruction of the Library’s documents and records.
The Library is required to honor the following rules from the date of adoption of this policy:
A. Paper or electronic documents indicated under the terms for retention in the following section will be transferred and maintained by the Library Director or his/her designee;
B. All other paper documents may be destroyed after three years;
C. All other electronic documents may be deleted from all individual computers, databases, networks, and back-up storage after one year;
D. No paper or electronic documents will be destroyed or deleted if pertinent to any ongoing or anticipated government investigation or proceeding or private litigation; and
E. No paper or electronic documents will be destroyed or deleted as required to comply with government auditing standards.
The following documents shall be maintained permanently:
- Audit Reports
- Checks (for important payments and purchases)
- Correspondence (legal and important matters)
- Deeds, mortgages, and bills of sale
- Determination letter for income tax exemption
- Depreciation schedules
- Year-end financial statements
- Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies, and so on (active and expired)
- Minute books, bylaws and charter
- Retirement and pension records
- Tax returns and worksheets
The following documents shall be maintained for seven years:
- Accounts payable ledgers and schedules
- Contracts, mortgages, notes and leases (expired)
- Invoices (to customers, from vendors)
- Payroll records and summaries
- Personnel files (terminated employees)
- Timesheets
- Withholding tax statements
The following documents shall be maintained for four years:
- Bank reconciliations
- Bank statements
- Duplicate deposit slips
The following documents shall be maintained for three years:
- Employment applications
- Incident report forms
- Internal audit reports
- Inventory records for products, materials and supplies
The following documents shall be maintained for two years:
- General correspondence