General

SLAC Archives Service Level Agreement

Archives and History Office

Service Level Agreement

The SLAC Archives, History & Records Office archival program exists to support the archival needs of the Laboratory, as resources allow, by:

Providing and facilitating local, national, and international access to SLAC archives and history
Complying with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regulations.

Our goal is to provide efficient and effective archival services and to be responsive to the changing needs of our patrons and the Laboratory as outlined in the Strategic Plan.

THE SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

The Archives History and Records Office (AHRO) service level agreement outlines the core services that the AHRO provides on records of continuing, historic value from the resources allocated to us by the laboratory. (A separate SLA covers core records management services offered by the Office.) Our archival service provision is inevitably constrained by the level of resources we receive. Our aim is to ensure that we deliver maximum value for money, that our services provide the closest possible match to user needs and that we are open about our decision-making and accountable for our actions.

The document is called a Service Level Agreement because it is intended to encourage a two-way process whereby:

the archival services provided by the AHRO reflect both the views of users on their current needs and current compliance requirements;
consultation, evaluation and monitoring mechanisms are included to ensure that the core archival services change as users’ needs and compliance requirements change;
both the users expectations of the AHRO and the AHRO’s expectations of users are described.

The Agreement is reviewed as needed. As part of this process we review comments made to us by our users. We welcome comments on it at any time. These may be sent directly to slacarc@slac.stanford.edu).

Further information about SLAC AHRO services is included on our website: http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history

General Information

SLAC Archives, History and Records Office (AHRO) archival services are delivered directly to our users over the laboratory network and the web, as well as via email, telephone, conventional mail and in-person consultation.

The AHRO maintains onsite archival storage area as well as collections storage off the laboratory campus.

Access

AHRO archival collections may be consulted in person by appointment only. In-person access to archival collections by SLAC staff requires a valid SLAC employee identification badge and a valid SLAC computing account. Non-SLAC - affiliated researchers will be required to complete a Researcher Application form and to present valid U.S. identification.

Responsibilities of Users

Users of the AHRO archival collections and services are required to abide by the stated rules of use and to comply with any relevant copyright or publication restrictions.

Description of AHRO Archival Collections and Services

For each archival collection and service the AHRO offers, the following information is given:

Service name	The name of the collection or service
Basic description	An outline description of the collection or service
Eligibility	Which categories of user are entitled to the service
AHRO responsibility	Details of what the AHRO offers as part of this collection or service
User responsibility	Any users of the collection or service are expected to conform to these criteria
Service charges	Details of fines or charges where applicable
Service hours	Availability of the collection or service
Service targets	Any target response or delivery times
Service statistics	Statistics and performance measures reported to laboratory management

Premium Services

Additional services, which cannot be provided as core services from the AHRO’s basic funding allocations, may be provided as charged premium services where this can be achieved without prejudicing core service provision or limited based on available resources. Examples include:

large document retrieval and/or scanning projects;
staffed service to make photocopies or electronic copies;
consulting services.

Service name	Appraise SLAC Archives
Basic description	AHRO staff are available to consult with SLAC staff regarding records (regardless of format) created as part of the laboratory’s official business
Eligibility	SLAC staff
AHRO responsibility	Review records on site in offices, storage or server locations Provide appraisal of records according to DOE, NARA, or SLAC records control schedule guidelines (best practice) Consult with staff on appraisal of and on preparation of inventories for inactive temporary retention records Provide archival boxes and records boxing service, if needed, for inactive permanent records to be retired to AHRO Arrange and pay for Labor Pool Services to transport permanent records to AHRO storage
User responsibility	Alert Archivist / Records Manager of the existence and location of inactive records needing appraisal Provide safe and secure storage of inactive records pending their appraisal and disposition
Service charges	Core Laboratory service: No charges apply
Service hours	By appointment with AHRO staff
Service targets	Appraisal consultation conducted within one week of initial request, subject to current workload constraints
Service statistics	Statistics reported on AHRO Monthly Metrics Report

Service name	Arrange and Preserve SLAC Archives
Basic description	Gain basic intellectual control over records retired to AHRO so that they are preserved for future consultation according to accepted best practice
Eligibility	SLAC units creating permanent retention records, regardless of format
AHRO responsibility	Arrange and pay for Labor Pool services to deliver inactive permanent records to AHRO storage Accession permanent records into AHRO collection and complete basic entry in collection database Following transfer of physical custody, take basic preservation measures as appropriate (ex. Re-boxing and re-foldering in acid-free boxes and file folders, removal of acidic and other contaminants, etc.) Prepare inventories for inactive permanent retention records as time and resources allow Provide an accession number to User(s) for future reference
User responsibility	Alert Archivist / Records Manager of the existence and location of appraised permanent records Provide safe and secure storage of permanent records pending their transfer to AHRO
Service charges	Core Laboratory service: No charges apply
Service hours	Monday-Friday, standard work hours
Service targets	Accession number assigned and basic entry in collections database completed within one month of receipt; Accession report provided within one week after the end of the current fiscal year.
Service statistics	Statistics reported on AHRO Monthly Metrics Report

Basic description	Provide reference services on the SLAC AHRO collections
Eligibility	SLAC staff, University Staff, credentialed researchers (see rules)
AHRO responsibility	As resources allow, AHRO staff will provide all eligible requesters: Assistance with consulting AHRO finding aids, including AHRO collections index databases, accession inventories and the SALLIE all-image (photographic) repository database Scans or hard-copies of requested archival materials Assistance in researching SLAC history contained within the AHRO collections
User responsibility	Provide as complete information as possible on the historical information or documentation being sought Allow sufficient lead time for research requests Use historical information provided by AHRO appropriately and accurately Follow AHRO Researcher Rules
Service charges	For SLAC staff: Core Laboratory service: No charges apply For credentialed outside researchers: fees may apply, depending upon the level of service(s) requested.
Service hours	Monday-Friday, standard work hours
Service targets	Initial request response within 24-hours of receipt
Service statistics	Statistics reported on AHRO Monthly Metrics Report

Service name	Comply with DOE and NARA archival regulations
Basic description	Follow US Department of Energy and National Archives and Records Administration rules and regulations regarding the appraisal and preservation of permanent retention records created by the lab.
Eligibility	SLAC units creating permanent retention records, regardless of format
AHRO responsibility	Consult with SLAC units creating permanent retention records in order to ensure that the records are appropriately handled and are retired to the AHRO when no longer needed for current business
User responsibility	Alert Archivist / Records Manager of the existence and location of possibly permanent retention records Provide safe and secure storage of potentially permanent retention records pending their appraisal and transfer to AHRO Cooperate in the transfer of permanent retention records to the AHRO
Service charges	Core Laboratory service: No charges apply
Service hours	Monday-Friday, standard work hours
Service targets	Appraisal consultation conducted within one week of initial request, subject to current workload constraints
Service statistics	Statistics reported on AHRO Monthly Metrics Report

Updated: January 2024