Once a collection has been converted and verified, the source paper becomes an open question that projects often answer badly — either by destroying everything on the assumption that digital is now sufficient, or by keeping everything because nobody wants to sign the destruction order.
Neither is a decision. The retention schedule is what should determine the outcome, and it usually produces three groups. Records past their retention period can be destroyed under certificate now. Records still within retention but inactive belong in secure storage rather than on your premises. And records that must be retained in original form for evidential or statutory reasons stay, regardless of the digital copy.
That third group is smaller than people fear but it is real, and it is why blanket destruction after scanning is risky. Certain instruments, title documents and executed originals carry evidential weight that an image does not replace.
Whatever the split, two things should be true before any paper is destroyed: verification has confirmed the digital record is complete and legible, and the destruction itself is approved, witnessed and certificated. A disposition you cannot evidence is functionally the same as a loss.
Working through this in your own institution? We can look at what you hold and come back with a structured next step.
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