Once you have identified what records your office has, call the East Texas Research Center at X4100 or Rachel B. Galan at the same number. Appraise the records. There are basically four types of value to consider when appraising records. The primary value of records is its current administrative, legal or fiscal use. These are records that are still needed for the office to function and are not appropriate for sending to the archives.
Most records diminish in primary value over time.
Informational value refers to the record's ability to provide information about persons, places and things. Records with evidential value tell researchers what an office did and why or how they did it. These records are some of the most important items for an institutional or governmental archives. Intrinsic value refers to a record that has value for what it is and not for its use or informational content. A piece of paper autographed by Sam Houston would have a great amount of intrinsic value, but could have little or no primary, informational or evidential value.