Archive Regulations of the University of Rostock

1. As a public archive, the University Archive serves research and teaching at the University, its self-government and the protection of its legal rights. It contributes to research into and communication of the University’s history. To this effect, the University Archive provides services for research and teaching based on the archival materials it looks after. It provides information, advises and supports its users.
    
2. As a final archive, the University Archive is responsible for the safeguarding, custody, preservation and indexing of all University documents worthy of archiving, which it acquires from university bodies, faculties and organisational units. It makes these documents available to the public as archival materials pursuant to the applicable provisions and protects them against destruction and fragmentation. The University Archive also records University documents worthy of archiving, acquires them, permanently safeguards them, enables their location with finding aids, prepares them and makes them available for use (referred to collectively as archiving), all on the basis of technical criteria.
    
3. Documents within the meaning of number 2 include written documents, files, certificates, ledgers, maps, plans, sketches, images, film material, audio material, seals, files and other information media as well as the resources required to collect and use such media.
    
4. Documents are worthy of archiving if their legal, political, commercial, social or cultural significance demonstrates enduring value to the University, to science and research, to administration or to legislative processes.
    
5. In order to document the history of the University, the University Archive may also record, acquire, index and make generally available other documents from other entities and private individuals, or support other entities and private individuals in doing so.
    
6. In addition to a reference library, the University Archive shall also establish and maintain collections where necessary for or conducive to the supplementing, indexing and use of archival materials and for research into the history of the University.
    
7. Collection items include, in particular, coins, medals, seal castings, images, pamphlets, newspaper excerpts, periodicals from the University and entities closely related with the University, documentation of student associations and University-related memorabilia of all kinds.

1. The entities specified in § 1(2) Sentence 1 shall advise the University Archive of all documents they no longer require for their ongoing activities. In any case, all documents shall be offered to the University Archive within 30 years of their creation, provided that legal and administrative provisions do not specify a longer retention period by the donating entity. Records should not be made available until five years have passed after they have been closed. The obligation to offer documents also extends to documents that
   1. contain personal data that requires deletion in accordance with a state-level legal provision or could require deletion in accordance with federal or state-level legal provisions, insofar as the data storage was not illegitimate, or 2. are subject to professional secrecy, official secrecy or other legal provisions related to confidentiality.
2. The obligation to offer documents does not include documents whose disclosure would violate the secrecy of written correspondence, postal traffic or telecommunications.
    
3. The entities named in § 1(2) Sentence 1 shall also offer the University Archive a copy of all official publications they issue or that are issued on their behalf.
    
4. The entities named in § 1(2) Sentence 1 may only destroy documents or delete data if the University Archive has declined to accept them or has failed to decide whether such materials are worthy of archiving within three months of an offer being made.
    
5. The acquisition of such materials shall be evidenced in a disposition record produced by the donating entity. The University Archive shall agree with the donating entity the selection and form of acquisition of the machine-readable information and programs.

1. The University Archive shall fulfil its duties in line with professional archiving standards. It shall enact appropriate measures to secure the archival materials effectively against unauthorised access and ensure the protection of personal data and of documents subject to particular legal secrecy provisions. In doing so, it shall observe the provisions applicable to the donating entities and take the necessary measures to protect the archival materials against damage, loss or destruction and to ensure their preservation, long-term retention and usability.
    
2. Personal data may only be linked if doing so would not impede the interests worthy of protection of the parties concerned or of third parties.
    
3. Where justifiable or required in line with professional archiving standards, the University Archive may archive the information contained in the archival materials in another form. Such processing and use may only take place to fulfil the purposes specified in these Archive Regulations. The original documents may be destroyed. Such destruction shall be documented.
    
4. The University Archive is authorised to dispose of documents that are no longer worthy of archiving, provided that neither retention periods or interests worthy of protection of the parties concerned or of third parties prevent this. Such disposition shall be documented.
    
5. The University’s archival materials are inalienable.

1. The use of the archival materials is regulated in the Terms of Use.

1. These Archive Regulations shall enter into force upon the decision passed by the Senate of the University of Rostock and remain in force until new regulations are adopted.

Decision made by the Academic Senate of the University of Rostock of 1 April 1998

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Maeß

Rector

As a public archive, Rostock University Archive serves research, teaching and studies at the University, other scientific work, and the provision of factual information. It makes the University’s archival materials available for general use.

Use is permitted in accordance with these Terms of Use by any person who credibly demonstrates a legitimate interest in doing so, in particular in relation to legal issues, scientific issues, local history or family history. Users may use archival materials once any blocking periods have expired.

1. As a fundamental rule, the use of archival materials takes the form of inspection.
    
2. The University Archive may facilitate their use by responding to written or oral queries, by presenting or providing reproductions, or by sending or loaning archival materials.
    
3. As a fundamental rule, responses to queries shall be limited to information regarding the type, scope and condition of relevant archival materials.
    
4. The provisions for the users of archival materials shall apply accordingly to the use of finding aids, other tools and reproductions.

1. Requests for use must be submitted in writing to the University Archive. Such requests must contain the given name(s) and surname of the person making the request (and, if applicable, the relevant contracting authority) and details of the project in question and the purpose of use. In the case of scientific use, the request must also specify the type of scientific project, the university and the name of the user’s supervisor.
    
2. Users shall present ID upon request.

1. The Director of the University Archive shall decide on requests for use.
    
2. Approval to use the University Archive shall remain valid only for the current calendar year and for the purpose or research topic specified in the request.
    
3. Approval to use the University Archive may be made subject to ancillary conditions.

Use of the University Archive may be refused if:

1. there is reason to suspect that such use would seriously harm the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany or of one of its federal states;
    
2. such use would violate the secrecy obligation pursuant to § 203(1) to (3) of the Strafgesetzbuch  StGB (German Criminal Code) or other legal provisions;
    
3. there is reason to suspect that such use would seriously harm the interests worthy of protection of the parties concerned or of third parties, and that the interest in use does not prevail in the specific case;
    
4. such use would endanger the condition of the archival materials;
    
5. such use would create an unreasonable administrative burden;
    
6. agreements with current or previous owners prevent such use;
    
7. archival materials are not available for operational reasons or because they are simultaneously in use elsewhere; or
    
8. the user has committed a serious or repeated breach of the Terms of Use or failed to comply with conditions imposed on them.

Permission to use the University Archive may be revoked or withdrawn in accordance with §§ 48 and 49 of the Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz –VwVfG (Administrative Procedure Act), in particular if:

1. key information in the request for use is not accurate or is no longer accurate;
    
2. information that would have resulted in the request for use being refused has subsequently come to light;
    
3. the user commits a serious or repeated breach of the Terms of Use or fails to comply with conditions imposed on them; or
    
4. the user violates copyright or personal rights or third-party interests worthy of protection.

Documents that were not intended for publication at the time of their creation and were not publicly accessible are subject to the following blocking periods:

1. Unless otherwise specified by legal provisions, archival materials shall remain excluded from use for a period of 10 years after their creation. If archival materials are subject to specific provisions on official secrecy or specific legal provisions on secrecy, they may only be used 30 years after the documents’ creation. Archival materials containing personal data may only be used 10 years after the death of the parties concerned or, if their date of death is unknown, 90 years after their date of birth. If neither date can be ascertained, the archival materials may only be used 60 years after the documents’ creation.
    
2. The use of archival materials by the University of Rostock or other public bodies that created or donated them is also permissible within the blocking periods; however, the blocking periods shall be observed if the archival materials should have been blocked, deleted or destroyed in accordance with specific regulations.
    
3. The blocking periods specified in Subsection 1 shall not apply to:
   1. documents that were intended for publication or were publicly accessible upon their creation, or
   2. archival materials containing personal data that document the activities of people who were acting in the exercise of a public office but do not relate to their personal circumstances.
       
4. The blocking periods may be reduced in specific cases or for specific parts of archival materials, provided that no legal provisions specify otherwise. Blocking periods for archival materials containing personal data pursuant to Subsection 1 Sentence 3 may only be reduced if:
    
   1. consent is granted by the party concerned or their surviving spouse after their death, or by their children after the death of both the party concerned and their spouse, or by the parents of the party concerned if there are no such children, or
   2. the materials are used for scientific purposes in fulfilment of the requirements of § 9 of the Landesdatenschutzgesetz  – DSG M-V (State Data Protection Act of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), or
   3. the materials are used to safeguard the prevailing interests of the party concerned or third parties, with appropriate measures taken to ensure this.

1. Upon request and irrespective of the blocking periods specified in § 8, a person must be provided with information about their personal data contained in the archival materials, or granted access to the archival materials pertaining to them, provided that the archival materials reference the person by name or that details are provided to facilitate the archival materials’ identification. This shall not apply if such information or access would violate secrecy obligations pursuant to § 203(1) to (3) of the SDGB or other legal provisions or special agreements with current or previous owners.
    
2. Any individual who disputes the correctness of information about them may request that a counter statement is attached to the documents, subject to demonstration of a credible legitimate interest in this. Following the death of the party concerned, this right shall pass on to their surviving relatives in the order specified in § 8(4) No. 1. This counter statement shall be made in writing, with its scope restricted to a statement of facts. Sentences 1 and 2 shall not apply to information contained in an official transcript of a public session of a body with the ability to issue decrees, a legal entity under public law or a court of law.

1. As a fundamental rule, archival materials are made available for use in the designated rooms under supervision and during the opening hours announced on the notice boards.
    
2. Archival materials and resources may only be analysed for the specified intended purpose and viewed by the user authorised to do so.
    
3. Users have no entitlement to receive archival materials at a specific time or in a specific order. As a fundamental rule, only a limited number of archival items shall be made available at any one time. Users have no entitlement to support with reading the archival materials.
    
4. The archival materials, reproductions, repertories and other resources made available shall be treated with all due care.
    
5. Users shall not:
   1. alter the arrangement of the archival materials;
   2. remove items from the collection such as pages, sheets of notes, envelopes, seals, stamp impressions, stamps and so on;
   3. make comments in or remove comments from the archival materials; or
   4. use the archived materials as a firm writing surface or trace from the archived materials.
       
6. The use of technical equipment is subject to approval.
    
7. The user shall be liable for all damage that they or their assistants culpably cause to archival materials and resources.
    
8. If archival materials are used in reading rooms or in specific working areas of the University Library, the Terms of Use of the University Library and any applicable implementing provisions shall also apply.

1. As a fundamental rule, users may not independently make reproductions of archival materials.
    
2. Reproductions may be ordered using the designated forms. Users have no entitlement to the production of reproductions. Reproductions may only be made if there is no threat or risk of damaging the archival materials.
    
3. Reproductions of any kind may only be made with the permission of the University Archive. The University Archive shall determine the appropriate process for making reproductions in each case. The University Library may require reproductions to be made under supervision with the resulting costs covered by the person ordering the reproduction.
    
4. Reproductions may only be published, duplicated or disclosed to third parties with the permission of the University Archive. If permission is granted, the University Archive shall be referenced as the source and the relevant shelf mark must be indicated. Where copyrights exist, the permission of the rights holders shall also be obtained.

1. The archival materials may only be shipped in justified exceptional cases for use in external, professionally managed archives in the Federal Republic of Germany.
    
2. The person submitting the request shall secure a written declaration from the external archive in which the external archive undertakes:
   1. to make the archival materials available only to the person submitting the request, on the archive’s premises and under constant supervision;
   2. to store the archival materials in a theft-proof and fire-proof location;
   3. to return the archival materials upon expiry of a specified loan period, which shall not exceed two months; and
   4. not to make reproductions without the permission of the University Archive.
       
3. The user shall be liable for shipping costs.
    
4. Items excluded from shipment are finding aids and archival materials that:
   1. are subject to restrictions of use;
   2. are not suitable for shipment due to their high value, their arrangement, condition, or their format, or for preservation-related or security reasons;
   3. are frequently used; or
   4. have not been conclusively recorded.

1. Archival materials may only be loaned for exhibition purposes where it is ensured that the materials are effectively protected against loss, damage and unauthorised use and that the exhibition purpose cannot be achieved through use of reproductions.
    
2. The University Archive shall impose conditions that ensure the security and preservation of the loaned archival materials.
    
3. A loan agreement shall be concluded between the University Archive and the borrower.
    
4. Third-party reproductions of loaned archival materials may only be made with the permission of the University Archive.

The University Archive may also facilitate the use of archival materials sent by other archives or other bodies for use by third parties. Unless the loaning entity specifies other conditions, the provisions of these Terms of Use shall apply.

The type and form of use of archival materials by the entities within the University that created or donated the materials shall be agreed on a case-by-case basis. It is essential to ensure that the archival materials are protected against loss, damage and unauthorised use and returned within an appropriate period.

Usage fees may be charged for use of the University Archive in accordance with the Fee Regulations (Gebührenordnung) of the University Archive.

These Terms of Use shall enter into force following upon decision by the Senate of the University of Rostock and remain in force until new regulations are adopted.

Decision made by the Academic Senate of the University of Rostock of 1 April 1998

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Maeß

Rector