Archive Work Responsibility System
1. Responsibilities of the Main Person in Charge
1.1 Overall leadership of the unit’s archive work, fulfilling the primary responsibility for the integrity and security of archives.
1.2 Lead the study of the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Regulations for the Implementation of the Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, and “Regulations on Archive Management in Government Agencies”, and implement relevant policy requirements.
1.3 Regularly research archive work, coordinate and resolve major issues that hinder the development of archive work, and make decisions on significant matters related to archive work.
1.4 Coordinate with other members of the leadership team to promote archive work in their respective areas, ensuring that archive work is synchronized with all aspects of the unit’s work.
2. Responsibilities of the Leader in Charge of Archive Work
2.1 Directly responsible for the archive work of the unit.
2.2 Promote the inclusion of archive work in the unit’s overall development plan and important agendas, secure funding for archive work, and ensure that archive facilities and equipment meet management needs.
2.3 Organize the study of the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Regulations for the Implementation of the Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, and other legal regulations, policy documents, and work requirements, ensuring effective implementation.
2.4 Regularly listen to reports on archive work, review the unit’s archive development plans, budget, and work systems, and promote solutions to difficulties and problems hindering archive work.
2.5 Organize archive safety inspections, emergency drills, etc.
3. Responsibilities of the Head of the Archive Work Institution
3.1 Directly responsible for the management of the unit’s archive work.
3.2 Organize the formulation of medium- and long-term plans, annual plans, and work systems for archive work.
3.3 Implement the establishment of an archive work network centered on the archive work institution, composed of relevant personnel, and take effective measures to ensure smooth operation of archive work.
3.4 Review archive classification schemes, the scope of document archiving, and the archive retention schedule, and ensure implementation.
3.5 Coordinate the promotion of all aspects of archive collection, organization, archiving, storage, appraisal, destruction, utilization, statistics, transfer, and the construction of archive infrastructure and information technology.
3.6 Review and organize the implementation of archive publicity and training work plans.
3.7 Coordinate the integration of archive information across the agency and its subordinate institutions, promoting the digitization of traditional archives and the standardized management of electronic documents and archives.
3.8 Timely report on the status of archive work to the responsible leader and provide work opinions and suggestions.
3.9 Organize supervision and guidance of the archive work of subordinate institutions.
3.10 Accept supervision, guidance, and inspection from the archive administrative management department.
3.11 Propose commendation and reward suggestions for departments or individuals who achieve outstanding results in archive work; propose handling suggestions for departments or individuals who violate archive management requirements.
4. Responsibilities of Heads of Functional Departments
4.1 Directly responsible for the management of archive work in their department.
4.2 Organize the study of the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Regulations for the Implementation of the Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, and other legal regulations, policy documents, and work requirements, incorporating the formation, collection, organization, and archiving of documents into the department’s work plan.
4.3 Develop and review the archiving scope and retention schedule for various documents produced by the department.
4.4 Assign part-time archive staff, organize the annual archiving work of the department, and complete the transfer of archives to the archive work institution by the end of June of the following year.
4.5 Collaborate with the unit’s archive work institution to carry out related work such as opening, declassification, appraisal, destruction, and information technology.
5. Responsibilities of Archive Work Institution Staff (Full-time Archivists)
5.1 Study the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Regulations for the Implementation of the Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, and other legal regulations, policy documents, and work requirements, and ensure effective implementation.
5.2 Responsible for managing all archives of the unit, ensuring the safe storage and utilization of archives, and assisting in government information disclosure work.
5.3 Supervise and guide the formation, accumulation, and archiving of various documents in the agency, and supervise and guide the archive work of subordinate institutions.
5.4 Draft archive work plans, proposals, systems, etc., revise archive classification schemes, document archiving scopes, and retention schedules, and submit for review.
5.5 Responsible for the information technology work of the unit’s archives, carrying out the digitization of traditional archives and the management of electronic archives.
5.6 Accept supervision, guidance, and inspection from the archive administrative management department, and implement the annual reporting system.
5.7 Regularly receive archives transferred from various functional departments and periodically transfer archives to the local comprehensive archive office.
5.8 Organize archive business exchanges and training for archive staff, and carry out archive publicity and educational activities.
5.9 Regularly organize archive safety inspections to ensure the safety of physical archives and information.
5.10 When changing job positions, timely handle document handover procedures before processing resignation or departure procedures.
6. Responsibilities of Functional Department Archive Staff (Part-time Archivists)
6.1 Study the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Regulations for the Implementation of the Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, and other legal regulations, policy documents, and work requirements, and ensure effective implementation.
6.2 Revise the archiving scope and retention schedule for the department’s documents and submit for review.
6.3 Timely collect, organize, and standardize all types of documents that should be archived in the department, regularly transfer archives to the unit’s archive work institution, and no individual may refuse to archive or claim ownership.
6.4 Participate in archive business training and accept supervision and guidance from the unit’s archive work institution.
6.5 Safely and properly store documents pending archiving in the department.
6.6 When changing job positions, timely handle document handover procedures before processing resignation or departure procedures.
Archive Management System for Comprehensive Archive Rooms
1. Document Collection System
1.1 Government document or business departments should promptly collect and submit archivable documents to the part-time archivist of the department for safekeeping.
1.2 Collection of various documents should be based on the established “Archive Classification Scheme, Document Archiving Scope, and Archive Retention Schedule”.
1.3 When documents are formed, durable and reliable recording media and methods that meet long-term preservation requirements should be used.
1.4 Archivable documents should be authentic, accurate, and systematic, with complete components and content.
1.5 Archivable documents should be originals; copies must be stamped with an official seal.
1.6 Electronic documents should be collected along with metadata, which must comply with relevant regulations.
2. Archive Organization System
2.1 Government document or business departments should promptly organize documents that should be archived.
2.2 Classification and appraisal of various documents should be based on the established “Archive Classification Scheme, Document Archiving Scope, and Archive Retention Schedule”.
2.3 Archive organization should follow the formation rules of documents, maintain organic connections between documents, distinguish different values, and facilitate storage and utilization.
2.4 Documents, photos, audio recordings, videos, and physical archives are generally organized by item; scientific, personnel, and accounting archives are generally organized by volume; other categories of archives are organized by volume or item as needed. The organization methods should be executed according to corresponding requirements.
2.5 During organization, archive numbers should be assigned to each volume or item. The archive number should uniquely represent the basic attributes of the archive, including source, category, classification system, and arrangement order.
2.6 During organization, retrieval tools should be created to meet manual and computer retrieval needs.
3. Archive Transfer and Handover System
3.1 After government archives are organized by document or business departments, they should be archived with the archive department by the end of June of the following year; if using office automation or other business systems, they should be archived as they are created. If there are special regulations regarding archiving time, those regulations should be followed.
3.2 Archives should be regularly transferred according to the receiving plan and requirements of the local archive office, along with digital copies of paper archives, retrieval tools, and research results.
3.3 When archiving, an archive handover document should be prepared according to the archiving directory in duplicate, with both parties signing and retaining a copy, and the transferred archives should be counted and verified on-site.
3.4 Archivable documents should be originals. If electronic documents need to be converted to paper for archiving, and if the electronic documents have electronic signatures and seals, and the electronic seal is converted to a graphic seal as required, the paper documents do not need to be signed or stamped again.
3.5 Before transferring archives to the local archive office, the confidentiality level of the transferred archives should be changed or lifted, and control and opening opinions should be proposed.
3.6 No department or individual may claim ownership of or refuse to archive documents that should be archived.
4. Archive Storage System
4.1 Archive storage rooms should be independently set up, separate from offices, organization, and reading rooms.
4.2 Archive entry and exit, as well as the entry and exit of archive staff, should be properly recorded.
4.3 Archive cabinets in the storage room should be uniformly numbered, and archives should be stored and managed according to their classification and different media requirements. The keys to the storage room should be kept by designated personnel and not carried on their person.
4.4 The archive storage room should arrange archives scientifically and normatively according to the classification scheme. Paper archives should be stored vertically in order from left to right and top to bottom; photos, audio tapes, video tapes, and disks should be boxed separately and stored vertically.
4.5 The archive storage room should implement safety measures against fire, theft, ultraviolet rays, harmful organisms, water, moisture, dust, high temperatures, and pollution, regularly check to ensure safety and reliability.
4.6 Smoking is strictly prohibited in the archive storage room, and no other rooms or open flame facilities should be set up, nor should items unrelated to archive storage and protection be stored.
4.7 Temperature and humidity in the storage room should be monitored and recorded, and measures should be taken to adjust as needed; regular maintenance of archive storage facilities should be conducted to ensure normal operation; regular cleaning should be done to keep the storage room clean; and measures should be taken to prevent and control rodents, insects, and mold.
4.8 Regularly count the number of archives and check their storage conditions, and regularly check the storage and reading conditions of electronic archives, addressing any issues promptly.
4.9 Timely repair, copy, or take other technical measures for damaged or fragile archives, and keep records.
5. Archive Appraisal and Destruction System
5.1 According to the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China” and relevant regulations from national, provincial, and municipal archive bureaus, the archiving unit should regularly or irregularly organize the appraisal of archived archives according to the “Archive Retention Schedule”.
5.2 The archiving unit should establish an archive appraisal leadership group composed of the responsible leader, office director, and archive personnel, responsible for organizing and leading the unit’s archive appraisal work, with specific appraisal work completed by a group composed of archive personnel and relevant personnel from the document formation department.
5.3 Archives determined by the appraisal group to have no preservation value should be compiled into a destruction list and a destruction archive directory, which can only be destroyed after approval from the responsible leader. Archives that have reached the end of their retention period but still have preservation value can have their retention period redefined.
5.4 Destruction of archives should be monitored by personnel from the archive room and the formation department, and destruction should be counted item by item according to the destruction list. After destruction, the monitoring personnel should sign and stamp the destruction list and report the monitoring situation to the unit’s leader.
5.5 Destruction of archives should be carried out in designated locations, and the destruction list should be archived.
5.6 The destruction of confidential archives should comply with the “Regulations on the Destruction of National Secret Carriers”.
6. Archive Confidentiality System
6.1 Archive staff should study the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Keeping Secrets” and relevant confidentiality management regulations, and manage confidential archives according to national regulations.
6.2 Archives owned by the state should not be provided, copied, reproduced, or published without authorization.
6.3 Archives owned by the state should not be bought, sold, or illegally transferred.
6.4 Archives should not be altered, damaged, forged, or destroyed without authorization.
6.5 During archive management and utilization, the contents of classified and non-public archives should not be discussed or written about in public places, homes, letters, phones, or online.
6.6 When archive staff change positions or retire, they must hand over archives and materials clearly and complete handover procedures. The transfer of confidential archive staff should be carried out according to national confidentiality laws and regulations.
6.7 The agency should comprehensively carry out the digitization of traditional archives, electronic document archiving, and the security and confidentiality of electronic archive management, taking effective measures to prevent information alteration, loss, or leakage.
6.8 In the event of archive loss or leakage, it must be reported promptly, and immediate investigation and remedial measures should be taken, with serious consequences for responsible parties.
7. Archive Utilization System
7.1 Units and individuals holding valid legal identification and introduction letters can utilize the archives in the room after approval.
7.2 When utilizing archives, registration procedures must be followed, and the “Archive Utilization Registration Book” must be filled out.
7.3 Approved archives can only be viewed in the designated reading area of the unit. If users need to copy or photograph archives, it must be handled by staff. Machine-readable archives must be accessed using dedicated computers in the archive room to ensure the security of archive information resources.
7.4 Users may not copy or transcribe archives without authorization; if needed, they must fill out an application form and obtain consent from archive staff before copying or transcribing, with an official seal affixed.
7.5 Archives in the room are generally not lent out; in special circumstances requiring lending, approval from the main leader is necessary.
7.6 Users must not disassemble, bend, roll, mark, scratch, annotate, or damage original archives, nor alter, damage, or forge archives.
7.7 Users may not publish archives in any form without consent. If users wish to publish archives in exhibitions, publications, etc., they must submit a written application and obtain approval from the main leader of the unit.
8. Archive Statistics System
8.1 Archive personnel should establish corresponding statistical accounts and directories according to the requirements of higher-level archive administrative management departments, and carry out daily archive business statistics to ensure consistency between accounts and physical archives.
8.2 The archive room should compile basic statistics on the unit’s archive work by the end of December each year, including the reception, organization, appraisal, storage, transfer, digitization quantity and status, as well as the composition, utilization, organization, and personnel of archives, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of statistical data.
8.3 For statistical reports issued by higher-level supervisory departments and archive administrative management departments, they should be filled out carefully, accurately, and promptly according to the requirements of higher authorities, and submitted after review and approval by unit leaders.
8.4 In addition to reporting statistical reports as required, the unit should retain a copy for future reference.
8.5 Conduct comprehensive analysis and research on statistical data and report indicators to keep abreast of the status of archives and archive work, further improving the management level of archive work.
9. Archive Equipment Maintenance and Usage System
9.1 Archive storage rooms must be equipped with tools and equipment that meet national standards and archive storage requirements.
9.2 Various tools and equipment in the archive storage room should be operated, maintained, and replaced according to the instructions; rough handling is strictly prohibited. Archive personnel must turn off all powered equipment before leaving.
9.3 Dedicated archive computers should be managed by designated personnel, and non-archive personnel are not allowed to use them. Any software introduced from outside units must not be installed or run without testing or permission to avoid virus infection and data loss.
9.4 If archive equipment malfunctions, archive personnel must report to leadership immediately and arrange for timely repairs to ensure safe operation. Maintenance records for archive equipment should be kept for future use.
10. Major Event Archive Registration System
10.1 Registration Scope: Major political, economic, and cultural events organized by the unit, inspections and visits by leaders at the municipal level or above, foreign affairs activities organized by or involving the unit, and major disasters or accidents occurring within the unit’s responsibilities or jurisdiction.
10.2 Registration Method: Departments responsible for organizing or handling major events should notify the archive room in advance, and archive personnel should intervene early to supervise the formation, accumulation, and transfer of important materials during the event. Particularly significant events should also be reported to the local archive supervisory department, and registration procedures should be completed within 60 days after the event.
10.3 Registration Requirements: When a major event occurs or is held, the responsible department or individual should fill out the “Notice of Major Event” within 10 days of the event being confirmed or occurring, report it to the unit’s archive department, and ensure timely collection, organization, and transfer of the formed documents, with responsibilities assigned to individuals to ensure the completeness and integrity of the archives.
Archive Filing System for Various Types of Archives in Government Agencies
1. Document Archive Filing System
1.1 All documents that describe and reflect the main functions and work situations of the unit and have preservation value should be collected, organized, and archived by the part-time archivist of the forming or handling department, completing the archiving work by the end of June of the following year.
1.2 All types of documents to be archived must be originals; copies must be stamped with an official seal. The paper, handwriting, and signatures must meet national standards, and audio tapes, video tapes, photos, and computer disks (CDs) should be cataloged and briefly described by the handling department and archived along with the corresponding documents.
1.3 Archived documents should be complete and accurate, reflecting the content of the documents, securely and neatly bound, without any metal objects.
1.4 Electronic documents should be collected along with metadata, which must comply with relevant regulations.
1.5 After completing the archiving tasks, each department should transfer the archives to the archive room according to relevant regulations. All archives transferred to the archive room must have an archiving document directory prepared in duplicate, one for the document-forming department and the other to be transferred to the archive room, along with handover procedures.
2. Accounting Archive Filing System
2.1 Various accounting statements, ledgers, and vouchers formed by the unit should be collected, managed, and compiled by the part-time archivist of the accounting department after the end of the accounting year, and transferred to the archive room by the end of March of the third year after being kept in the accounting department for one year.
2.2 Archived accounting archives must be complete and maintain the natural formation rules and organic connections of various accounting archive materials, with paper, handwriting, and binding meeting the requirements of national and provincial and municipal departments.
2.3 The transfer of accounting archives to the archive room must be accompanied by handover procedures, with an accounting archive registration book prepared in duplicate, one copy to be transferred with the accounting archives to the archive room and the other to be kept for reference in the accounting department.
3. Construction Archive Filing System
3.1 Written materials, drawings, and charts formed during construction work by the unit should be collected, organized, compiled, and cataloged by a designated person from the construction department within three months after project completion, and transferred to the archive room with handover procedures.
3.2 Archived construction documents must be accurate and reliable, with paper and handwriting meeting requirements.
3.3 Archived construction archives should be complete, reasonably compiled, and an archive directory prepared in duplicate, with one copy kept by the archive room and the other by the construction department.
4. Audio-Visual Archive Filing System
4.1 All audio-visual materials that reflect the main functions and activities of the unit, significant events involving leaders or notable figures, and other valuable recordings belong to the scope of audio-visual archives.
4.2 Audio-visual archives should be collected, organized, numbered, and cataloged by the forming department or relevant personnel, and transferred to the archive room promptly with handover procedures. No department or individual may privately retain them.
4.3 Archived audio-visual archives should be accompanied by a brief written description prepared by the forming department, including essential elements such as time, place, and people for photos; and for audio and video tapes, details such as people, time, format, specifications, and confidentiality level should be included. This should be submitted along with the audio-visual archive directory to the archive room.
5. Physical Archive Filing System
5.1 All physical items awarded by district committees, district governments, and above-level party and government agencies, such as award flags, medals, certificates, and other items of preservation value, belong to the scope of physical archives.
5.2 All physical archives to be filed must be submitted to the archive room by the awarding or handling department by the end of March of the following year, along with handover procedures.
5.3 Physical archives must be filed as originals, and the originals must be kept intact.
5.4 The archive room is responsible for classifying, numbering, cataloging, and safeguarding physical archives.