Records Retention and Disposition Schedule - 12-15-2015

Browse Search

DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS 1. AUTHORIZED PROCEDURES. North Carolina General Statutes§121-5(b) and§132-3(a)prohibit the destruction of public records in any format without the prior authorization of the Department of Cultural Resources. One of the following procedures shall be followed prior to the destruction of public records. a) Records listed in this schedule,or added later by amendment,may be destroyed after the specified retention periods without further approval of the Department of Cultural Resources or the governing body,provided the following conditions are met (1) The Director,Division of Historical Resources,and Secretary,Department of Cultural Resources,have certified that such records in the retention and disposition schedule have no further use or value for research or reference by signing the agreement of this schedule. (2) The agency's governing body has authorized the records listed herein for destruction to be destroyed by blanket approval of this retention and disposition schedule. (3) The Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners has indicated the governing body's approval by signing the same agreement of this schedule. (4) The agency's governing body has entered this approval along with a copy of the schedule in the governing board minutes,or as an attachment to the minutes. b) One-time destruction of an accumulation of an unscheduled or a discontinued record series should be referred to the Department of Cultural Resources and the governing body for authorization. This records retention and disposition schedule may be altered to permit the further destruction of unscheduled records only after consultation with the Government Records Branch. 2. DESTRUCTION OF ORIGINAL RECORDS THAT HAVE BEEN DUPLICATED. Under certain conditions,duplicates of records may be used in place of the originals. Duplicates include(but are not limited to):microfilm of paper or electronic records,scanned paper records,and printouts of electronic records. For the original records to qualify for potential destruction,the corresponding duplicates must be created in the normal course of business and must be retained for the full period of time listed in the disposition instructions. Records scheduled as permanent may be duplicated. The original records,however,may not be destroyed without prior consent of the Department of Cultural Resources. This records schedule does not constitute such consent. Unlike a xerographic reproduction of paper records,a printout of an electronic record may lose valuable information describing its content,context,and structure. This metadata is a key element of an electronic record. Therefore,records custodians are cautioned not to assume that a printout contains all of the information the original electronic record does. Records duplicated through digital imaging or other conversion to computer or digital environments must be supported by convincing,documented evidence that the electronic records were created,reproduced,and otherwise managed in accordance with systems and procedures designed to ensure the reliability,accuracy,and security of both the records and the process or system used to produce the records. Provisions must also be made to ensure the records'accessibility throughout their retention period,including any required migration, recopying,or conversion. Prior to destroying scanned paper records,correspondence using the form"Request for Disposal of Original Records Duplicated by Electronic Means"(see page 38) should be submitted to the Government Records Branch. Upon receiving authorization paper records scanned into digital environments may be destroyed. v