Records with permanent value should be deposited at the appropriate Regional Council Archives. The records of the Ontario Regional Councils should be deposited at the United Church of Canada Archives in Toronto. Records set for transfer to the Archives should be recommended by the official board, or equivalent body, prior to their transfer. To make transferring of permanently valuable records to the Archives easier it is recommended that records be transferred at five year intervals whenever practical or when a particular book or register is full. Prior to the transfer, congregations should undertake the following steps to get their records ready:
- Always consult the Regional Council Archivist before transferring records
- Provide a list of records being deposited
- Discard any duplicates
- Label and date file folders, registers and other volumes and cartons
- Ensure that the Communities of Faith Transfer Form is completely filled out for each carton
- Place one copy of the form in each carton and retain a copy of the form in the congregation’s files for future reference.
- Do not mix the files of different committees, task forces, and officers.
- Do not transfer hanging files, just the inside manila file folders
Transfer the records to the Archives in person. If records need to be shipped use a courier or registered mail please contact the Archives first.
Please consult the “What Do the Archives Want” and the “Sample Retention Schedule” sheet for information on records that should be transferred to the Regional Council Archives.