Procedures for Transferring Permanent Electronic Records
February 20, 2002
1. Purpose and rationale: These procedures identify methods for transferring permanent electronic records to the Archives, and the documentation that must accompany the records so that the data are readable and so that the Archives understands which records are being transferred. The timetables at which records are transferred are established during the retention scheduling process.
2. Method of transfer: Agencies may choose from below which method they want to use to transfer records to the Archives.
2.1 Magnetic tape: Agencies may transfer electronic records to the State Archives on magnetic tape using tape cartridges. Contact the Archives for current tape recommendations. Data on the tape should not be placed there through proprietary backup systems, but instead should be in a Tape Archive (TAR) file and accompanied by an index listing the TAR file contents.
2.2 Email attachment: Agencies may use email to electronically transfer records to the State Archives, provided those files are not larger than the email gateway can easily handle.
2.3 FTP: For larger-sized records, direct electronic transfer via FTP is an option.
3. Accompanying documentation: All transfers must be accompanied by a Records Transfer Sheet, in paper or electronic form.
3.1 System documentation: Documentation adequate to identify, service and interpret electronic records that have been designated for preservation shall be transferred with the records. This documentation shall specify all technical characteristics necessary for reading and processing the records; identify all defined inputs and outputs from the system; define the contents of the files and records; determine restrictions on access and use; document the purposes and functions of the system; and describe update cycles or conditions and rules for adding information to the system, changing information in the system, or deleting information. Documentation for data files and data bases must include record layouts, data element definitions, and code translation tables.
4. Record format: Best practice is for records to be saved in standard non-proprietary formats. Some proprietary formats may be unavoidable. Contact the Archives for current recommendations for any given document type.
4.1 Text records: Text-based electronic records transferred to the State Archives should be in a format independent of specific hardware or software, written in ASCII, Unicode, or EBCDIC, with all control characters and other non data characters removed. Such files may contain Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML) tags.
4.1.1 Transfer as flat files: Data files and data bases shall be transferred to the State Archives as flat files or as rectangular tables; i.e., as two dimensional arrays, lists, or tables. All "records" (within the context of the computer program, as opposed to a government record as defined in UCA 63G-2-103) or "tuples," i.e., ordered collections of data items, within a file or table should have the same logical format.
Each data element within a record should contain only one data value. A record should not contain nested repeating groups of data items. The file should not contain extraneous control characters, except record length indicators for variable length records, or marks delimiting a data element, field, record, or file. If records or data elements in different files need to be linked or combined, then each record must contain one or more data elements that constitute primary and/or foreign keys enabling valid linkages between the related records in separate files.
4.2 Non-text records: Non-text records (including audio/visual records, or bitmap or vector-based graphics) to be transferred to the State Archives may require specific software to make the records interpretable, which must accompany the records.
5. Arrange for transfer: Before sending the Archives your electronic records, you must contact the State Records Center at 975-4016. Be sure your records have a retention schedule already approved by the State Records Committee. Records Center staff will walk you through your transfer options and ask for an advance copy of your Records Transfer sheet so that they may determine if everything is in order.
This page was last updated August 1, 2008.