S Records Retention and Dispositon Schedule

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PUBLIC RECORDS WITH SHORT-TERM VALUE Go~.~.~.~~s .~o~ ~~~.~ .~~.~.~~~o.~~ ~~s.~a~~~~o.~ ~.ccoxding to North Carolinna General Statutes X121 and §132, every document, papex,letter, map, book, phatogxaph, film, sound recording, magnetic ox other tape, electronic data processing record, artifact, ox other documentary material, regardless of physical form ox characteristic, made or received in connection with the transaction of public business by any state, county, municipal agency, or other political subdivision of goverxunent is considered a public record and may not be disposed of, erased, or destroyed without speafic guidance from the Department of Cultural Resources. The Department of Cultural Resources xecogn:izes that many recoxds exist that may have very short-term value to the creating agency. 'i"hese guidelines, along with any approved program recoxds retention and disposition schedule, are intended to authotize the ex~pediti.ous disposal of xecords possessing only brief administrative, f seal, legal, research, or reference value, in vxder to enhance the efficient management of public recoxds. Examples of those recoxds include: • facsimile cover sheets containing only transmittal ~"to" and "Exam"} information, ox information that does not add significance to the transmitted material; ~ routing slips ox other records that transmit attachments; ~ xeservati,ons and confirmations; • personal messages including electronic mail} not related to off cial business; e preliminary or rough drafts containing no significant information that is not also contained in the final drafts of the recoxds; documents downloaded from the World ode Web or by file transfer protocol not used in the transaction of business; ~ recoxds that do not contain information necessary to conduct official, business, meet statutory obligations, carry out administrative functions, ox meet organizational ob jectives. The recoxds described above may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of when their reference value ends. These guidelines axe not intended to serve as authorization to destroy or otherwise dispose of unscheduled xecords. They are intended to complement the use of an approved records xetent[on and disposition schedule for the creating gove~nent ox agency, not replace ox supersede it. Should a creating government ox governmental agency lack an approved records retention and disposition schedule, it may not destroy ox otherwise dispose of any records in its custody, whether in electronic, papex, or other format ~~ncluding electronic mail} until it receives approval of its Request and Approval of 7aaseheduled Records Disposal ~.ocated at the end of the this schedule}. Such offices should contact the Goverment Records Branch of the Division of Historical Resources fox assistance in creating a schedule. While recoxds of short texzn value may be discarded as described above, all public employees should be familiar with specific xecoxds retention and disposition schedules and applicable guidelines for their office and the public recoxds law G.S. 132}: When in doubt about whether a record has short-tea~a. value, or whether it has special. significance ox importance, retain the record in question.