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119 <br /> EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> ✓ Some records are covered by the Local Agency Program Retention and Disposition <br /> Schedules. See the appendix for Related Records Series Found in Local Agency Program <br /> Schedules. <br /> ✓ According to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-5(b) and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-3, you may destroy public <br /> records only with the consent of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources <br /> (DNCR). The State Archives of North Carolina is the division of DNCR charged with <br /> administering a records management program. This schedule is the primary way the State <br /> Archives of North Carolina gives its consent. Without approving this schedule, your agency <br /> is obligated to obtain the State Archives of North Carolina's permission to destroy any <br /> record, no matter how insignificant. <br /> ✓ Each records series listed on this schedule has specific disposition instructions that will <br /> indicate how long the series must be kept in your office. In some cases, the disposition <br /> instructions are simply "retain in office permanently," which means that those records <br /> must be kept in your office forever. In other cases, the retention period may be "destroy <br /> in office when reference value ends." An agency may have reference copies of materials, <br /> meaning "a copy of a record distributed to make recipients aware of the content but not <br /> directing the recipient to take any action on the matter" (from Society of American <br /> Archivists, Dictionary of Archives Terminology). Your agency must establish and enforce <br /> internal policies by setting minimum retention periods for the records that the State <br /> Archives of North Carolina has scheduled with the disposition instructions, "destroy when <br /> reference value ends." <br /> ✓ E-mail is a record as defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 121-5 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132. It is the <br /> content of the e-mail that is critical when determining the retention period of a particular <br /> e-mail, including attachments, not the media in which the record was created. It is <br /> important for all agency employees and officials to determine the appropriate records <br /> series for specific a-mails and retain them according to the disposition instructions listed <br /> with the identified record series. <br /> ✓ The State Archives of North Carolina recommends that all agency employees and officials <br /> view the tutorials that are available online through the State Archives website in order to <br /> familiarize themselves with records management principles and practices. The State <br /> Archives of North Carolina's online tutorials include topics such as records management <br /> and scanning guidelines. <br /> ✓ The State Archives of North Carolina creates security preservation record copies for <br /> minutes and selected other records of governing bodies and commissions, adoption <br /> records, and maps and plats. Agencies can request copies of the digital images made <br /> during this process. Contact the appropriate Records Management Analyst to begin this <br /> process. <br /> v <br />