55-02.1 Archival Resources and State Archivist
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agency of origin and which the state archivist determines to have permanent value for research,
reference, or other use appropriate to document the organization, function, policies, and
transactions of government.55-02.1-02. State archivist - Compensation. The director of the state historical societyshall employ an archivist in the position of state archivist, who must be under the general
supervision of the director, and any other personnel necessary to administer this chapter. The
compensation of personnel employed by the director must be set within the limits of legislative
appropriations.55-02.1-03. Duties of state archivist. The state archivist shall:1.Establish and maintain a program for the selection and preservation of state records
and advise in the establishment of programs for the selection and preservation of
local records.2.Give advice and assistance on problems concerning archival resources to any
legislative, executive, or judicial officer of the state or any political subdivision of the
state when so requested.3.Be the official custodian of the archival resources of the state.4.Receive all records transferred to the state archivist for retention as archival
resources.5.Assess, assemble, catalog, house, preserve, and service the archival resources of
the state.6.Make the archival resources in the custody of the state archivist available to serve
the administrative and informational needs of state and local government and the
people of the state.55-02.1-04. Authority of state archivist concerning records from private sources.The state archivist may negotiate for, acquire, and receive records, writings, and illustrative
materials of permanent value from nonpublic sources for research and reference purposes.55-02.1-05.Depositories of archival resources. The state historical society is thedepository of the archival resources of the state. However, the state historical society may enter
into agreements with the state universities or any other public or quasi-public or private
institutions, agencies, or corporations to serve as depositories of regional archival resources.
The agreements must specify the area to be served by the depositories and the method of
assessing, cataloging, housing, preserving, and servicing materials placed by the state archivist
in the regional depositories. The state archivist may deposit in regional depositories, with title
remaining with the state historical society, the records of state agencies or their district or
regional offices which are primarily located in the geographic area serviced by the depository. All
archival resources from central departments, offices, and agencies must be placed in the main
archives in the heritage center in Bismarck under the state historical society's immediate
jurisdiction. However, the state archivist may place archival resources temporarily at a regional
depository. The state archivist may take any steps deemed necessary to provide for the safety of
archival resources and other articles and materials entrusted to the archivist's custody in the
archives, including temporary removal to safer locations, as may be dictated by any disaster
emergency situation.Page No. 155-02.1-06. Receipts for archival resources. The state archivist shall prepare receiptsfor any archival resources acquired and shall deliver one copy to the state records administrator,
one copy to the person or agency from which the archival resources were obtained, and shall
retain one copy.55-02.1-07.Safeguarding of restricted records.The state archivist shall take allprecautions necessary to ensure that records placed in the custody of the state archivist, the use
of which is restricted by or pursuant to law or for reasons of security and public interest, must be
inspected, surveyed, or otherwise used only in accordance with law and regulations adopted by
the state archivist in consultation with the person or agency of origin. No public record of any
governmental entity may be placed in the custody of the state archivist under access or use
restrictions in violation of section 44-04-18.55-02.1-08.Availability of archival resources to the public.Subject to section55-02.1-07, the state archivist shall make archival resources under supervision of the state
archivist available to public agencies and the public at reasonable times, subject to appropriate
restrictions and regulations. Should any college or university library in this state request records
found to be archival resources under section 54-46-08.1, duplicate copies of specified records
shall be made available under mutually agreed-upon terms. The state archivist shall carefully
protect and preserve archival resources from deterioration, destruction, or loss through
application of appropriate techniques for preserving archival and library materials.55-02.1-09. Adoption of rules. Chapter 28-32 applies to regulations adopted by thestate archivist.Page No. 2Document Outlinechapter 55-02.1 archival resources and state archivist