Records Management Glossary

access
the right, opportunity, and means of finding, using, or retrieving information

appraisal
the process of analyzing records according to administrative, fiscal, and legal criteria and determining whether or not records have enduring value

archival authority
the program responsible for selecting, acquiring, preserving, and making available records of enduring value

authentic record
a record that can be proven to be what it purports to be, to have been created or sent by the person purported to have created or sent it, and to have been created or sent at the time purported

compliant records system
a system managed in compliance with all requirements arising from current business, the regulatory environment, and community expectations

confidential record
any public record that has been designated confidential by statute and includes information or matters or records considered to be privileged and any aspect of which access by the general public has been generally denied

custody
specifies possession of, control over, and responsibility for records; physical custody is possession, control, and responsibility for the physical aspects of the record, such as lending of the physical object; legal custody is possession, control, and decision making responsibility over the informational attributes of the record, such as determining access and providing certification of authenticity of documents or objects within an entity’s care and control

decommission
the processes related to discontinuing use of a records system, which may include migrating, removing, reformatting, or storing the records contained in the system

department
any department, agency, division, board, commission, or other separate unit of Metropolitan government created or established by Charter, by ordinance, or pursuant to law, including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and offices of elected officials

disposition
the final phase of a record’s life cycle resulting in either the record’s destruction or its preservation as archives

enduring value
the value placed on a record when its importance as evidence or information is thought to persist over centuries; also, any public record which may promote or contribute to the preservation and understanding of historical, cultural, or natural resources of Metropolitan government

essential records
any public records vital to the resumption or continuation of operations, to the re-creation of the legal and financial status of Metropolitan government, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to citizens served by Metropolitan government

integrity of a record
the quality or condition of a record being complete and unaltered

integrity of a records system
the quality or condition of a system that prevents unauthorized access, destruction, alteration, or removal of records including the negative impact of system malfunction, upgrade, or regular maintenance

human-readable records
information that does not need to be decoded by a machine to be retrieved or read, even though magnification may be necessary; examples of formats include mechanical printing or handwriting on paper or other media, or recording on microfilm and microfiche

machine-readable records
records containing information which is in a coded form suitable for processing by computers or other machines and must be read, retrieved, stored or otherwise processed by instruments, machines, or tools that translate machine language into human readable language; such records may rely on one or more of the following for use: computer hardware and software, audio and video devices, digital communication devices, and digital and magnetic storage devices

migration
the act of moving records from one system to another, while maintaining the records' authenticity, integrity, reliability, and usability

preservation
the processes and operations involved in ensuring the technical and intellectual survival of authentic records through time

protection
the methods and plans applied to essential records so that they may be used to continue or resume business in the event of an emergency or disaster

record
recorded information in any format that is created, received, and maintained as administrative, legal, and historical reference and evidence by Metropolitan government departments or employees, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of Metropolitan government business

records creation
the recording of information on human-readable or machine-readable media

records management
the field of management responsible for the systematic and efficient control of the planning, creation, receipt, maintenance, use, disposition, access, protection, and preservation of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records

records officer
an appointed departmental representative responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining the department’s records management program

records schedules
an encompassing term for formal authorizations describing categories of records and documenting approved timelines for retention or destruction of the records by category; general records schedules apply to records common across many departments while department-specific records schedules apply to records unique to the program functions of individual departments

records system
any information system that captures, manages, and provides access to records through time; a records system may contain information that is human-readable, machine readable, or a combination of both

reformat
the process of converting records from one medium to another or from one format to another

reliable record
a record for which the contents can be trusted as a full and accurate representation of the transactions, activities, or facts to which they attest and can be depended upon in the course of subsequent transactions or activities

reliable records system
any system deployed to manage records that is capable of continuous and regular operation in accordance with responsible procedures

secure destruction
the process of eliminating records beyond any possible identification or reconstruction

useable record
a record that can be located, retrieved, presented and interpreted