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210 <br /> available to the public. Other records in local and state governments document potential <br /> public health hazards, such as hazardous materials spills. <br /> ■ Adoptions, marriages, and divorces document changes in familial relationships. Though <br /> adoptions are confidential (not available for public inspection),they document changes in <br /> inheritance and familial succession. <br /> ■ Court records, such as wills, estates, and capital cases,affect people within and across family <br /> groups, are made available for public inspection, and often involve transactions related to <br /> the examples above. <br /> See the Human-Readable Preservation Duplicates policy issued by the North Carolina <br /> Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (https://archives.ncdcr.gov/government/digital- <br /> records/digital-records-policies-and-guidelines/human-readable-preservation) and check with a <br /> records analyst to determine whether your permanent records require a preservation duplicate. <br /> Q. What is historical value? <br /> A. Historical records document significant events, actions, decisions, conditions, relationships, and <br /> similar developments. These records have administrative, legal,fiscal, or evidential importance <br /> for the government or its constituents. Two criteria for determining historical value are <br /> inherent interest and extraordinary documentation: <br /> • Inherent interest is created by non-routine events, by the involvement of famous parties, and <br /> by compelling contexts. For instance,foreclosure proceedings from the 1930s have high <br /> historical value because they date from the era of the Great Depression. <br /> • Extraordinary documentation is found in records that shed light on political, public, or social <br /> history. For instance,the records from the replevin case that returned the Bill of Rights to <br /> North Carolina hold more historical value than most property case files because of the political <br /> history intertwined with this case. <br /> SANC has further elaborated selection criteria that help distinguish records with historical value: <br /> • Do they protect the rights and property of residents and organizations? <br /> • Do they have a long-term impact on residents and organizations? <br /> • Do they document the core functions of an agency? <br /> • Do they document high-level decision-making that shapes an agency's policies or initiatives? <br /> • Do they summarize an agency's activities? <br /> Call a Records Management Analyst for further assistance in assessing historical value. <br /> Q. What if I do not have any records? <br /> A. Nearly every position in government generates, receives, or uses records. Computer files of any <br /> kind, including drafts and e-mail, are public records. Even if your records are not the official or <br /> final version,your records are public records. Not all records have high historical, legal, or fiscal <br /> value, but they all must be destroyed in accordance with the provisions of the appropriate <br /> records schedule. <br /> Q. I have a lot of unsorted records. What's a good first step for getting a handle on <br /> these records? <br /> A. We encourage you to create a file plan of what records you have. When you create this plan, <br /> you can match each record to its placement on this schedule or on the appropriate retention <br /> schedule. A sample file plan is available on page A-22. Having a file plan can help you strategize <br /> how to best organize your physical or digital records. A file plan is also useful in disaster <br /> planning and scheduling destructions. <br /> A-3 <br />