Keeping publications and promotional materials and records

Purpose and scope

In this context, a publication includes any form of information which is published, intended to be made available to the public or able to be accessed by the public. It also includes published information issued or made available to staff within the organisation, e.g. a procedure manual published on the organisation's intranet. Publications can be hardcopy, online or in another format, and with or without an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).

What records should be kept?

It is good practice to keep:

records relating to the drafting or development of the publication or item (for example draft versions, correspondence about an item's design),
copies of the published or issued versions of publications and promotional items. This can include: books, web publications, CD-ROMS, videos, posters, online or hard copy forms or leaflets.
a record of each published version of a publication as it is superseded, unless the change is so minor as to make no substantive difference (for example, a small formatting change or correction of a typographical error).
two copies of those hard copy publications that are identified as State archives, one copy to be a mint condition copy that will ultimately be transferred to Museums of History NSW as a State archive and one copy to be used as a reference copy for the organisation's library or similar.

Forms

Many organisations produce forms that are used in the conduct of their business. Like other published materials, 'master' copies of forms that are developed and issued for use should be retained as records, whether in electronic or hard copy format.

Legal deposit

Legal deposit is a statutory provision which obliges publishers to deposit copies of their publications in deposit libraries such as the State Library of NSW. Government organisations can also be required to lodge primary publications, such as Annual Reports, with the NSW Parliament or their responsible Ministry [1] . These requirements are distinct from requirements to keep publications as records and archives.

Retention requirements

Retention requirements for the records of publications and promotional materials vary depending on their purpose and significance to the organisation.

Publications and promotional materials created as part of core business

The organisation's functional retention and disposal authority details retention requirements relating to background research, substantive drafts and final versions of publications or promotional items created in the conduct of 'core business', for example a master copy of a poster promoting workplace safety issued by SafeWork NSW, or an information leaflet on flu vaccinations from NSW Health.

Sector specific authorities will often contain requirements for core publications. For example, the General Retention and Disposal Authority: University records details retention periods for published materials such as approved curricula, subject handbooks and final research reports.

Where there is overlap, retention requirements for records of publications and promotional materials in functional retention and disposal authorities will override the requirements in the general retention and disposal authorities.

Annual reports

A copy of each agency’s annual report is required as State archives.

The Cabinet Office Circular C2022-02 directs that, to satisfy the requirement for electronic copies of annual reports to be sent to the State Archives Collection, agencies are to follow the procedures for transfer of digital records to the State Archives Collection. If there are any queries about the transfer process, please contact the Agency Services team at Museums of History NSW at transfer@mhnsw.au .

There is no longer a requirement to publish electronic copies of annual reports via OpenGov.

For information regarding other distribution and publication requirements, please refer to: C2022-02 Deposit of New South Wales Government Publications (nsw.gov.au)

Plans, policies, procedures and reports

As noted above, decisions regarding the retention of background research, substantive drafts and final versions of plans, policies, procedures and reports relating to core functions should be made in functional retention and disposal authorities. The retention requirements for administrative functions are included in the General retention and disposal authority: Administrative records under the activities of PLANNING, POLICY, PROCEDURES, REPORTING etc in the Authority. For example:

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - PLANNING for background research, substantive drafts and final versions of corporate, business or strategic plans.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY - POLICY for background research, substantive drafts and final versions of policies relating to occupational health and safety.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS - REPORTING for background research, substantive drafts and final versions of formal reports to government such as Annual Reports.

Published addresses, conference proceedings and training materials

The retention requirements for published and unpublished conference proceedings and addresses at conferences are found at:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, COMMUNITY RELATIONS - CONFERENCES and STAFF DEVELOPMENT - CONFERENCES
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, CORPORATE MANAGEMENT - CONFERENCES.

For other addresses see:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, COMMUNITY RELATIONS - ADDRESSES, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS - ADDRESSES, and STAFF DEVELOPMENT - ADDRESSES
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, COMMUNITY RELATIONS - ADDRESSES.

For published training materials, see the organisation's functional retention and disposal authority if training is a core business of the organisation, or:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, STAFF DEVELOPMENT - TRAINING and GOVERNING BODIES - TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, PERSONNEL - TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.

Universities should consult General Retention and Disposal Authority: University records.

Advertising and promotional publications

Some publications are general in nature and need only be retained for business purposes and then destroyed. For example, the drafting and final versions of publications designed to promote or publicise aspects of the organisation's activities, e.g. posters, brochures, leaflets, published histories, or general promotional or explanatory information about the organisation and its services in pages on its website need only be kept for a short period of time. See:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, COMMUNITY RELATIONS - MARKETING
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES - MARKETING and INFORMATION MANAGEMENT - PUBLICATIONS.

Note: The organisation may wish to retain some advertising and promotional publications for longer periods if they are unique or interesting or have other potential uses. For example, promotional materials may be used for future display or for use in future marketing campaigns etc.

Internally directed publications

Publications other than plans, policies, procedures or reports that are for internal use also have short retention periods. See:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, PUBLICATION - DRAFTING
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT - PUBLICATIONS.

Audio visual materials

Retention periods for the production, rights management and final versions of audio-visual materials are covered in:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT - PUBLICATIONS.

Websites

The retention of publications on websites should be in accordance with the standard retention periods recommended for publications described above (i.e. the length of their retention depends on their purpose). See also:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, PUBLICATION - PRODUCTION for drafts and final versions of forms, e.g. forms for business transacted either manually or on websites, or for records that demonstrate the structure and organisation of the website and substantial changes made, e.g. site maps.

Records of business transacted on websites, e.g. via online forms, should be retained according to disposal actions given under the relevant functions in current general and functional retention and disposal authorities.

Snapshots

State Records NSW does not promote the use of snapshots as they are difficult and costly to maintain and often need to be maintained long term. If the website is frequently updated, snapshots would have to be very regular or augmented with change logs or they would not mitigate risks.

If the organisation is managing snapshots of their website, their retention should be addressed in the organisation's functional retention and disposal authority.

Production records

Records relating to the production of publications, e.g. graphic design, indexing or printing for paper publications or graphic design, preparation of source files, loading or updating information to websites for electronic publications, are only required for short periods of time. See:

General Retention and Disposal Authority: Administrative records, PUBLICATION - PRODUCTION
General retention and disposal authority: Local government records, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT - PUBLICATIONS.

Pre-1940 publications and ephemera

If your organisation holds publications, promotional items or ephemera [2] from before 1940, contact State Records NSW to discuss the disposal of these materials.

Management tips

Publications and promotional materials that are kept as records should be registered in official recordkeeping systems and stored in appropriate conditions.
Triggers such as uploading to the 'live' website or obtaining an ISBN can be used as a way to remind staff of the need to save a publication as a record.
Publications that are designated as State archives should not be used as reference copies. For example, Councils should retain one set of their Annual Reports as State archives and a separate set as reference copies to fulfil their obligation under section 12 of the Local Government Act 1993.
It is not necessary to keep promotional objects, such as badges, toys or mugs 'on file' with the records relating to their development. Where the organisation chooses to retain a collection of such objects, however, it may be useful to include information in relevant file/s about the physical location of the objects, for ease of retrieval.
Some publications or promotional items can be difficult to store in standard shelving and packaging (for example large posters). Information on suppliers to contact regarding purchasing shelving and packaging for non-standard formats is available from the Product Directory on the Records & Information Management Professionals Australasia website
If publications required as State archives are only published electronically, e.g. online or as a pdf document, contact Agency Services at Museums of History NSW about transferring these publications.

Transferring publications

Contact Agency Services at Museums of History NSW to transfer hard copy or digital publications as State archives.

Footnotes

[1] Requirements for NSW Government agencies in relation to legal deposit are explained in Premier's Circular C2022-02 Deposit of New South Wales Government Publications.

[2] Ephemera: Items of a transient nature and low value that are expected to have a brief currency. They are usually printed or manufactured in quantity for a specific event or activity and are intended neither to survive the topicality of that event or activity nor to survive as original records. They may be retained for their information or as graphic specimens, particularly for exhibitions. (Acland, Glenda 'Glossary' in Judith Ellis (ed.) Keeping Archives. 2nd Edition, Australian Society of Archivists Inc, Thorpe Publishing, Port Melbourne, 1993.)

First published 2005 / revised 2009 /revised 2013/ revised 2022/updated December 2023.

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