The Library has a heavy-duty document shredder that it makes available for destruction of NPS official documents. This is a high-security shredder designed not so much to shred quickly, but, rather, to shred items into very small particles. As such it is primarily intended for destruction of classified documents. However, we will accept unclassified documents containing restricted, sensitive or Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Please note that the requirement for destruction of documents containing PPI is much lower than that for classified documents. SECNAV INSTRUCTION 5211.5E, "Department of the Navy Privacy Program," paragraph 8b.(1) states that,

"disposal methods are considered adequate if the records are rendered unrecognizable or beyond reconstruction (e.g., tearing, burning, melting, chemical decomposition, burying, pulping, pulverizing, shredding or mutilation).

As such, many common cross-cut shredders may suffice for your needs.

The shredding service we make available is intended for NPS groups with an occasional need for shredding or faced with an unexpected event (e.g., converting a sensitive area to a public access space). Groups requiring more frequent shredding may be asked to help defray the labor costs involved.

Due to the demand for shredding, and our limited resources for processing this type of request, we ask that you observe the following guidelines when requesting that we shred materials for you:

• All shredding should be brought in copier paper size boxes, or similar. Smaller amounts may be hand carried.
• On average, we are able to accept no more than 3 copier paper size boxes of shredding a week, in total, from across the campus
• Priority will be given to requests for shredding of classified materials
• Items should, as much as possible, be in loose leaf. Please do not bring items in binders, folders, plastic covers, notebook cover, file holders, etc. as we will not accept them. The only exception is paper bound NPS documents (thesis, reports, etc.).
• All large heavy-duty staples, binder clips, paper clips and other hardware need to be removed from papers
• Please ensure that you have included only material that must be destroyed and have removed all non-sensitive material that may be disposed of by recycling. If we find excessive amounts of non-sensitive materials we will ask you to return and pick up your items.
• You may request to witness the shredding or to receive an e-mail or phone call telling you when the shredding is completed. If you need to witness the shredding you will be contacted to set up a mutually suitable time.
• All shredding must be dropped off to a staff member of the Library’s Restricted Resources and Services area. Please do not leave shredding unattended outside of RRS. You are strongly encouraged to contact RRS (x2061) prior to bringing any shredding.