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Requirements for University Departments and Microfilm Vendors Billing of Services

Billing for Services

University departments are responsible for the payment of all microfilming services provided by Vendors.

The Vendor must invoice on a project basis or on a monthly basis, for microfilming services provided. If microfilming projects are ongoing, or take more than two months to complete, the billings should be monthly.

Each invoice shall be in triplicate and must indicate the purchase order number, name of the records being microfilmed, the microfilm roll number(s) being billed, and a detailed breakdown by each charge for services/functions performed on the project per the pricing submitted in this bid. The dollar amount on the invoice can be a lump sum figure, provided a detailed breakdown of charges is attached to the invoice.

Time Frame for Completion of Microfilm Projects

The Vendor will coordinate with each University department to establish the acceptable time frame for completion of microfilming projects.

Time Frame for Acceptance of Microfilm Services by University Departments

University departments will have 30 working days from the date the microfilm duplicates are received from the Vendor to verify the content, quality of the microfilm duplicates, and other services provided.

If a University department has not notified the Vendor within the 30 working days time frame, the microfilm and related services shall be considered acceptable. Should it become necessary for any reason to microfilm records over or redo other services after the 30 working days period, the charge for rework will be the responsibility of University departments.

Delivery of Source Documents to Vendor

The Vendor will coordinate with University departments, the delivery of source documents to the Vendor's facility for microfilming.

University departments have the option of paying the Vendor for picking up documents at their office or making their own arrangements to have documents delivered to the Vendor´s facility. Due to the Vendor´s charges for picking up records, it is suggested commercial services such as UPS, Fed Ex, or other commercial courier be used to ship small quantities of boxed records to the Vendor.

For the Columbia and Rolla campuses, or if the Kansas City and St. Louis campuses are not using the local Vendor, University courier service could also be used to send records to Kansas City or St. Louis for the Vendor to pick up at the campus courier drop. However, the vendor will charge for picking up at the courier drop. Due to volume limitation of the courier vehicles, it may take several days for the entire shipment to arrive at the Kansas City or St. Louis courier drop.

All boxes used for transportation records should be securely taped to prevent spillage of records.

Return of Records to University Departments

All records the Vendor receives for microfilming shall be returned (except as noted in Disposal of University Records by Vendor) in 35 working days after delivery of the duplicate microfilm to the University department. The 35-day holding period is to facilitate the re-filming of any documents that may be necessary. Records held at the Vendor facility for destruction by the Vendor, will also be held for 35 working days after delivery of the duplicate microfilm before disposal.

Records returned shall be coordinated with University departments to ensure records are returned safely to departments. Records are to be returned in the same boxes the Vendor received the records in. Boxes are to be securely taped to ensure that records do not spill out of the boxes during transit.

University departments will have the option of paying the Vendor for returning documents, or making their own arrangements to get the documents delivered back to the department. The University courier service could be used; however, the Vendor will charge to take the records to the Kansas City or St. Louis campus courier drops. Due to the Vendor´s charges for picking up records, it is suggested commercial services such as UPS, Fed Ex, or other commercial courier be used to ship small quantities of boxed records to the Vendor.

Disposal of University Records by Vendors

The Vendor is to coordinate with University departments to determine if records sent for microfilming may be disposed of by the Vendor. If a department does not know if the records may be disposed of, the University Records Management Office can provide guidance.

When records can be destroyed after they have been microfilmed, it may be less expensive to have the Vendor shred the records than ship them back to the department.

When disposal of records by the Vendor is permitted, the Vendor must provide to the University department and Director of Records Management, a Certificate of Disposition signed by the Vendor. Disposal of such records must be done in such a manner to ensure confidentiality of the records.

Original Camera Microfilm

It is University Records Management policy that all original camera microfilm be returned to Records Management to ensure there is backup film should the department's copies be lost or destroyed.

All original camera film shall be retained at the Vendor´s site for a period of 30 working days in the event the University requires additional duplicates. After the 30 working days period expires, the Vendor delivers all original camera film on a monthly basis to the University Records Management Office.

Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Director of Records Management.

Microfilm Duplicates

It is University Records Management policy that departments be provided duplicate microfilm for day-to-day use. The Vendor shall provide first-generation duplicate.

Duplicates shall be delivered to the University departments in the appropriate microform (format) specified for the project.

Delivery of the microfilm may be made in person, courier, U. S. mail, or other method as long as the delivery method is acceptable to the University department.

Microfilm Project Setup Sheets

In order to assure University records are consistently microfilmed and converted into appropriate microforms, Project Setup Sheets were developed by Records Management Microfilm Operations.

Vendors will create a Project Setup Sheet as a guide for the Vendor´s staff to follow. The setup sheets need to provide sufficient data to identify the University department, contact person, name of the records being microfilmed, target requirements, reduction ratio, duplicate film format, and any other information pertinent to the project.

A copy of all new or modified Project Setup Sheets are to be sent to the Director of Records Management, 2910 LeMone Blvd., Columbia, MO 65211, at the end of each month.

Integrity of Records

The integrity of records refers to their context of use that includes maintaining their existing filing order (e.g., chronological, numeric, subject, or function) or arrangement before, during, and after filming. Records shall be returned to the original storage containers in the same order that existed before the filming. Fasteners (staples, clips, pins, etc.) removed prior to filming should not be restored.

Confidentiality

University records sent to the Vendors for microfilming include a wide array of records, including many that are highly confidential. All records received by the Vendors from University departments shall be considered as confidential. The contents of records shall not be disclosed or released by the Vendor, or any of its agents to any individual outside or within the University without approval of the Director of Records Management.

The Vendor shall enforce confidentiality rules among its employees and agents, and shall permit access to University records only on an "as needed" basis to complete microfilming projects.

Vendor Protection of Records

The Vendor shall exercise due care in handling all University records or other materials in its custody. Specifically, the Vendor shall ensure the safety of all records or other materials from the time the Vendor takes possession (including Vendor´s commercial third party delivery services) of the records until they are returned to the University. In the event, that any records are lost or damaged while under the Vendor´s control, the Vendor shall pay the University a fee of $100 per record lost that cannot be replaced, and actual cost of repairing or replacing any damaged records.

Document Preparation

Document preparation includes the removal of all staples, paper clips and other fasteners, unfolding pages, taping tears, placing the records in correct filming order and appropriate heading direction. When tape is used for document repairs, the tape shall be Scotch "Magic Tape" or similar tape that becomes invisible on the paper.

Depending on the needs of University departments, document preparation may be done by either the University departments or the Vendor.

When University departments do the document preparation, the Vendor shall provide guidance, as necessary to departments on the correct preparation procedures. When a University department's document preparation is done in such a manner that the documents cannot be microfilmed without additional document preparation, the Vendor must notify the University department as to why the document preparation was not sufficient. Vendors are not required to return poorly prepared documents to departments for correction, but only to make the notification. Vendors shall be permitted to charge for the time needed to complete the document preparation.

Identifying Information on Duplicate Microfilm

Duplicate microfilm that is going to University departments will need sufficient information to permit departments to identify the microfilmed records.

When departments request the Vendor type identifying information on aperture cards and jackets, the University departments shall provide directions as to what identifying information should be on the aperture cards and jackets.

The same information indicated above for original camera microfilm, shall be on labels affixed to the roll boxes and cartridges unless the University department indicates differently.

Microform (format) Selection

The Vendor shall evaluate how the paper records were used, how the microfilm is to be used, and recommend a microform that best suits the situation.

The University uses the following guidelines in making format selection with some modification or combination of formats depending on the situation. The guidelines should not be considered as absolute requirements, but as recommendations to the Vendor.

  • 16MM Roll: Records that have very little retrieval activity.
  • 35MM Roll: Newspapers, archival, and manuscript material.
  • 16MM Cartridge: Records that have medium to active fast retrieval (such as in a Computer-Assisted-Retrieval (CAR) system) and/or by few individuals at a time.
  • Aperture Cards-16MM: Records retained in file folders with an average of 20 images per folder and active retrieval by multiple individuals at the same time.
  • Aperture Cards-35MM:Engineering drawings and maps.
  • Jackets-16MM: Records retained in file folders by name or subject with 35-40 images or more per folder and active retrieval by multiple individuals at the same time.
  • Jackets-35MM: Engineering drawings when related to a specific project-could also be used for maps.

Reviewed 2019-08-05