Government Records Branch of North Carolina

Contents

1. Can "sensitive" data be restricted?
2. Is government e-mail considered public record?
3. How should e-mail records be managed?
4. Does the public have the right of direct access to public record files?
5. After paper records are scanned into a digital imaging system, may the originals be destroyed?
6. Does DCR recommend or approve hardware or software for use in conjunction with electronic records management?
7. Where can I learn more?

1. Can "sensitive" data be restricted?
   

   As a general rule, no. All data generated by a state or local government agency in North Carolina are public unless they have been legally declared closed to public inspection by state or federal statute. Exceptions to this general rule are discussed in Chapter 132 of the General Statutes of North Carolina.

   DCR is not empowered to make exemptions to the public records law. The department understands that administrators often have valid concerns about security and privacy rights, but notes that North Carolina's Information Resources Management Commission (IRMC) has appointed committees to address both matters. Thus, questions related to concerns about specific sensitive information or data elements are more properly addressed to the IRMC or to the members of the North Carolina General Assembly.

2. Is government e-mail considered public record?
   

   Yes. Records created in the course of public business are considered public records regardless of format. Agency staff should be strongly cautioned that government e-mail is a part of the public record and that they have no privacy rights when using government e-mail at any level.

3. How should e-mail records be managed?
   

   E-mail represents a communications medium, not a records series. Many e-mail messages are minor administrative records having only brief convenience or reference value, and they should be destroyed within three months of their creation. However, e-mail is sometimes used to transmit records having significant administrative, legal, research, or other value. Valuable records requiring long-term retention should not be maintained in an active or dynamic e-mail system, but should be transferred, in their entirety, to an offline digital storage medium and appropriately scheduled for retention and disposition. Such transfers permit the purging of records from the active e-mail system at regular intervals while also providing a capability for restoring the records to their original condition, without loss of format or informational content. Messages should remain in an e-mail system no longer than one year and preferably no longer than six months.

   Many agencies include e-mail files in their standard system backups, thereby giving old messages especially long lives as public records. Information technology personnel are urged to devise ways of handling e-mail backups separately to avoid e-mail retention periods inconsistent with similar records in other formats.

   DCR has several online resources concerning e-mail management:

   • E-mail as a Public Record in North Carolina: Guidelines for its Retention and Disposition
   • E-mail User Guidelines Checklist
   • Managing Your Inbox: E-mail as a Public Record

4. Does the public have the right of direct access to public record files?
   

   There is no specification in the Public Records Law of how the public must access public records. The means of access is left to the discretion of the agency. The public should not be given direct access if such an action would compromise the security and safety of the records themselves. Common sense urges caution where valuable records are concerned. Hardcopy and digital file storage areas may contain both "open" and "closed" records material, and the alteration, destruction, or theft of files represent clear dangers to public records. (See North Carolina General Statute § 132-6.(f))

   If a member of the public demands access that the agency believes will compromise records security but that is not otherwise clearly prohibited in federal or state statutes, that agency is urged to contact the division for guidance.

5. After paper records are scanned into a digital imaging system, may the originals be destroyed?
   

   North Carolina General Statutes § 121-5 (b) and § 132-3 (a) prohibit the destruction of public records, be they hardcopy or electronic, originals or copies, without the prior authorization of the division. Application for authorization to destroy records is initiated through the Division of Archives and Records's records retention and disposition scheduling procedures. Three conditions must be met before the destruction of original records can be approved:

   • The applicable records series must be scheduled with DCR through current records retention and disposition scheduling procedures.
   • The agency must provide 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.
   • DCR's global series retention and disposition schedules may be altered to permit the destruction of records only by mutual consent of DCR and the source agency.

   DCR's publication, North Carolina Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by Information Technology Systems, suggests certain methods and procedures in the preparation of electronic records that are designed to increase their reliability and accuracy and includes a model self-warranty form for voluntary use by individual agencies. (A copy of the guidelines is available to agencies upon request, or the document can be viewed here.)

   DCR regards a signed and dated self-warranty form as the agency's assurance that a particular series of electronic records is prepared in accordance with the suggested guidelines. However, some other equally compelling documented evidence of records and system integrity also may be acceptable.

   Given the variety of both the systems available and the processes used to record, verify, and index digital copies of original paper documents, the division cannot itself warrant the authenticity and accuracy of such records or certify that a given imaging or digital copying system produces legally acceptable copies. This certification or warranty must be provided by the source agency.

   DCR recommends against the destruction of original papers constituting permanently valuable documents such as deeds and vital records and will prohibit this practice as it applies to materials currently designated for deposit in the State Archives.

   Contact the Government Records Branch at (919) 807-7350 for more information about series registration and records retention and disposition scheduling.

6. Does DCR recommend or approve hardware or software for use in conjunction with electronic records management?
   

   No. The Department of Cultural Resources does not endorse, warrant, certify, or approve any particular hardware or software product or product combination used in any electronic records management activity. While North Carolina Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by Information Technology Systems provides general guidance as to the processes that help ensure legal acceptance of digital records, the implementation of these processes, including the specifications for products used therein, quite rightly remains at the discretion of the individual public agency.

   In the future, specific file formats and software applications might be required in conjunction with the global management of North Carolina's digital public records, but any such requirements would be developed in close partnership with state and local agencies.

7. Where can I learn more?
   

   The Government Records Branch offers several workshops on-site or by request at your agency. Visit the workshops page for the workshop schedule, or contact your analyst for more information.

   In addition, an online tutorial covering e-mail as a public record is available here.

[Return to Contents]

Last Modified: 10/15/2009