Records Retention and Disposition Schedule - 12-15-2015

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MANAGING PUBLIC RECORDS IN NORTH CAROLINA Q. What is this "records retention and disposition schedule"? A. This document is a tool for the employees of county governments across the state to use when managing the records in their offices. It lists records commonly found in county offices,and gives an assessment of their value by indicating when (and if)those records should be destroyed. This schedule is also an agreement between your county and the State Archives of North Carolina. This schedule serves as the inventory and schedule that the State Archives of North Carolina is directed by G.S. §121-5 (c)and G.S. §132-8 to provide. It supersedes all previous editions, including all amendments. Q. How do I get it approved? A. This schedule must be approved by the County Board of Commissioners for use in your county. That approval should be made in a regular meeting and recorded as an action in the minutes. It may be done as part of the consent agenda, by resolution,or other action. Q. Do I have to have all of the records listed on this schedule? A. No. This is not a list of records you must have in your office. Q. What is the definition of "administrative value"? A. Administrative value is defined as, "the usefulness of records to support ancillary operations and the routine management of an organization." Records having administrative value are generally considered useful or relevant to the activities that caused the record to be created and/or during an audit of those activities. Traditionally, records managers have seen "administrative value"as transitory. (From Richard Pearce-Moses,A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology) Q. What do I do with routing slips, fax cover sheets, reference copies, memory aids, reservations and confirmations, etc.? A. According to North Carolina General Statutes§121 and§132,every document, paper, letter, map, book, photograph,film,sound recording, magnetic or other tape,electronic data processing record,artifact,or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, made or received in connection with the transaction of public business by any state,county,municipal agency,or other political subdivision of government is considered a public record and may not be disposed of,erased,or destroyed without specific guidance from the State Archives of North Carolina. The State Archives of North Carolina recognizes that many records exist that may have very short-term value to the creating agency. These records may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of when their reference value ends. However,all public employees should be familiar with specific records retention and disposition schedules and applicable guidelines for their office and the Public Records law(G.S. §132). When in doubt about whether a record has short-term value, or whether it has special significance or importance, retain the record in question. Q. Do the standards correspond to the organizational structure of my county? A. Standards are grouped together to make it easier for users to find records. You may find that the records groupings reflect the organizational structure of your county,or you may find that records are located in various standards depending on the content of the record. The intent of the schedule's organization is to provide an easy reference guide for the records created in your county. Q. I can't find some of my records on this schedule. A. Sometimes the records are listed in a different standard than how you organize them in your office. Be sure to check the Index and utilize the"search box"function on the PDF version of the schedule. If you still cannot locate your records on the schedule,then contact the Records Management Analyst assigned iii