ArchivesAdviceNo.

DigitalImagingWhathappenstothepaper record?
ConsiderationsforGovernmentOfficials
Manygovernmentagenciesarecurrentlyusingorconsideringtheuseofdigitalimagingor scanningsystems.Agenciesoftenusedigitalimagingsystemstoscanpaperdocumentswhere thosedocumentshavetobefrequentlyandquicklyaccessedbymanydifferentstaffinthe courseofbusiness.Governmentshaveembraceddigitalimaginglargelybecausethese advantageshelppublicofficialsprovidemoreefficientservicetotheirconstituents,butrecords createdbypublicofficialsmustalsoprotectthelegalrightsofcitizens. SometimesdigitalimagingisusedinconjunctionwiththeimplementationofElectronic DocumentManagementSystems(EDMS)orElectronicRecordsManagementSystems(ERMS). Therationaleforthisinclusionisthatagencieswanttoconsolidatealltheirinformationholdings intoelectronicformsothattheydonothavetomanagebothpaperandelectronicdocuments andrecords. Fromalegalandrecordkeepingperspectivetherearemanyissuestoconsiderwhenputtingin placeanimagingorscanningsolution.

Legislation
Therearethreeactsthatimpacttheuseofdigitalimagingforpublicrecords: TheGeorgiaRecordsAct(O.C.G.A.501891et.seq.)establishesastateagency'slegal responsibilityinmaintainingtheirrecordsandcreatingretentionschedules.Eachagency, accordingtoO.C.G.A.501894(1),mustcreateandpreserverecordscontainingadequate andproperdocumentationoftheorganizationandmustfurnishtheinformationnecessary toprotectthelegalandfinancialrightsofthegovernmentandofpersonsdirectlyaffected bytheagency'sactivities.Inaddition,theagencyshouldproperlymaintainitsrecordsand maintaincorrectanduptodateretentionschedulesreflectingcurrentrecordkeeping requirementsandcurrentstoragetechnologies.

THE GEORGIA ARCHIVES

5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, Georgia 30260-1101 - v. 678-364-3795, f. 678-364-3860 www.GeorgiaArchives.org

TheGeorgiaRecordsAct(O.C.G.A.501899(c)and102)alsoestablishesthemandateofa localgovernmenttotreatallpublicrecordsaspublicpropertyandtoprotectsuchrecords fromalienation,alteration,theftordestruction. TheGeorgiaElectronicRecordsandSignaturesAct(O.C.G.A.10121et.seq.)recognizes thelegalvalidityoftransactionscarriedoutelectronicallyandpermitstherecordingand retentionofinformationanddocumentsinelectronicform.Itgoesfurthertodefinethe termelectronicrecordasinformationcreated,transmitted,received,orstoredby electronicmeansandretrievableinhumanperceivableform. TheRulesofEvidence(O.C.G.A.2411et.seq.)describethewaysinwhichdocuments maybeadmittedasevidenceintoacourtoflaw.Publicrecordsinparticularareincludedin sections3(concerningHearsay)and5(concerningbestevidence).AccordingtoO.C.G.A. 24526,anyopticalimagereproductionofanyoriginalrecordmaybeadmissiblein evidenceinanycourtofthestateandinanyproceedingbeforeanyboard,bureauor departmentofthestatewithoutalsoproducingtheoriginal.Inotherwords,itestablishes theacceptanceofadigitalimageinplaceoftheoriginalrecord.

PermanentRecords
Thelongerarecordmustberetainedandthemorevoluminousitis(especiallyinpaperformat), themoredesirableisreformatting.Inthepast,microfilmhasbeenthemediumofchoicefor reformattingtheserecords.Nowdigitalimagingisseenasareadilyavailableoptionthatallows staffaccesstotherecordsusingexistingPCs. Permanentrecordsarethoserecordsdesignatedforpermanentretentionbyanagencys approvedretentionschedules.Recordsclassifiedaspermanentcontaininformationthatfor legal,historical,fiscaloradministrativereasonsneedstoberetainedforever.Permanent recordsmaybescannedintoasystemforeaseofaccessandusebyagencystaff,butthe original,ifcreatedbefore1900,shouldnotbedestroyed.Shouldtheagencynotwantto maintainitsolderrecordsafterscanning,theagencycontacttheArchivestodetermineifthey areeligiblefortransfer. Modernrecordsmaybescannedandcomputeroutputmicrofilm(COM)generatedfromthe scannedimageasaneyereadablebackupfortherecords.Afterverificationofthefilm,the originalrecordsmaybedestroyed.Offsitestorageinasecuritymicrofilmvault,suchastheone operatedbytheGeorgiaArchives,isrecommendedforthemicrofilmbackupcopy.

DestructionofPaperRecordsandRisks
Asstatedabove,oncearecordhasbeenscannedandstoredelectronically,thisimage substitutesfortheoriginalrecordandtheoriginalmaybedestroyed.Iftheoriginalpaper documentsaretobedestroyedafterscanningthereisariskassessmenttobemadewithregard torecordsaslegalevidence.Withouttheproperdocumentationandcontrolsensuringthe maintenanceoftrustworthyrecordsinthe imaging system, the records may not pass the hearsaytesttobeadmittedasevidenceincourt.Thisisespeciallytrueiftheagencycannot

provethattheimagehasnotbeentamperedwith.Thussomequestionstoconsiderwhen assessingtheriskofdestroyingtheoriginalare: Doestheagencyrelyontheserecordsasevidenceincourtcases(ifso,howfrequently)? Agenciesinvolvedinfrequentcourtappearancesrunahigherriskofhavingevidence questionedbytheopposingpartybasedonthemethodsforrecordscaptureand maintenanceinordertoplaceindoubttherecordsauthenticityandreliability. Hasthesystembeendesignedwithadequatesafeguardstoensurethatrecordsheldin thesystemcanonlybechangedinanauthorizedmanner?Theagencymustbeableto showthatrecordshavebeensurroundedbysafeguardsdesignedtoprevent unauthorizedaccessoralterationoftherecords.Thiswouldincludetheabilitytodelete recordsandtheindexkeystotherecords. Ifauditlogsofuseraccesstorecordsarebeingproducedandkeptbythesystem,are theselogsbeingkeptforthesameamountoftimeastherecordsthemselves(theaudit logscouldbeusedtoshowthattherecordiswhatitpurportstobeinacourt)? Hasthescanningsystembeendesignedtoensurethat,ifrequired,copiesofthepaper originalscanbeproducedandcertifiedasbeingaccuratecopiesoftherecords? Doessomeoneintheagencyinapositionofauthorityauthorizethecopiesastrueand accuraterenditionsoftheoriginal?

TechnologicalObsolescence
Anotherissuethatarisesisthatoftechnologicalobsolescence.Technologicalobsolescence occursasnewhardwareandsoftwarearemadeavailable.Ifexistingimagesarenotmigratedto thenewhardwareorsoftware,theybecomeunreadableandareessentiallydestroyedbyvirtue ofthisinaccessibility.Asanexample,howmanyagenciesstillmaintaintheirinformationon5 inchfloppydisksoron14inchopticalplatters?Ensuringthatimagesareaccessiblefortheir entireretentionperiodiscriticaliftheoriginalrecordsaretobedestroyed.Thequestionsto considerwhenscanningtemporaryrecordswherethepaperoriginalaretobedestroyedare: Forhowlongaretherecordsrequired?Recordsmustbeaccessibleandavailablefor thedurationoftheirrequiredretentionperiod.Thelongertherecordretentionthe moreriskthereisthattherecordmaybeleftbehind Iftheretentionperiodisover10yearsitishighlyunlikelythatthescanningsystemwill stillbeaviablesystemafterthattime.Therefore,hasthesystembeendesignedso thatitispossibletoextracttherecords,theauditlogs,andthemetadataassociated withtherecordsoncethesystemisdiscarded? Hastheformatofthescannedrecordsbeenchosentoensurethelongevityofthe records?Thatis,willtheformatoftherecordsbeabletobeaccessedforaslongas therecordsmustberetained?(Proprietaryformatsoftendependontheviabilityofa singlevendorandarenotrecommended.) AgenciesmaywanttoconsidertheproductofComputerOutputMicrofilm(COM)asabackup orsafeguardagainstthelossoflongtermandpermanentrecords.

BatchingorFiling
Iftherequirementistokeeptheoriginalpaperrecords,aquestionarisesastohowthepaper willbefiled.Someagenciesestablishingascanningsystemsimplybatchtherecordstogether oncetheyhavebeenscanned(forexample,alltherecordsscannedeachdayareplacedinthe samefolderandstoredattheendoftheday).Ifapaperoriginalisneeded,theindexinthe scanningsystemisusedtolocatetherecordinitsbatch. However,thereareconsequencesforagenciesthatdecidetobatchrecords.Theseshouldbe consideredbeforeproceeding.Thefirstconsequenceisthatallthebatchedrecordsmayhaveto beretainedindefinitelyifanybatchcontainsapermanentpublicrecordthatcannotbe destroyed.Secondly,becauseofthemanytemporaryrecordsthatwillbeinanybatch,they cannotbetransferredtotheStateArchivestheArchivesonlyacceptspermanentrecords. Maintainingrecordsinstructuredorsubjectfilesisthepreferredoption.Itenablesbetter managementoftheirdisposal(eithertransfertotheStateArchivesordestructionwhenno longerneeded)andreducestheimpactofthecostlyandtimeconsumingprocessofseparating outwhatcanbelegallydestroyedfromwhatmustberetainedandultimatelytransferredtothe Archives.

FurtherInformation
TheGeorgiaArchivesisreadytoprovideassistancetostateandlocalgovernmentsthathave questionsaboutrecordspaper,microfilmorelectronic.Pleasecall(678)3643790.
Version:5 Revised:April2008