Electronic Records

All records created by Utah governmental entities, regardless of media, should be managed according to good record-keeping practices. Below are Utah policies and procedures, resources for further study and links to what other states are doing.

Utah Guidelines

• Electronic Mail Guidelines in Word and PDF
• Electronic Records Management (ERM) Business Case Summary
• Electronic Records Management (ERM) Business Case
• Electronic Records Guidelines
• Guide to Digital Imaging
• Imaging Systems Guidelines
• Procedures for Managing High-Risk or Permanent Electronic Records
• Procedures for Managing Medium Risk Electronic Records
• Procedures for Transferring Permanent Electronic Records to the Archives
• Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, UCA 46-4-101 et seq.

Resources for Further Study

• AIIM International
  • PDF-Archive Committee. October 2002-[ongoing]
  • Recommended Practice: Analysis, Selection, and Implementation of Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS). July 2007
• Alberta, Canada
  • Guide to Managing Electronic Mail in the Government of Alberta. February 2005
• Archive Builders
  • Document Imaging White Papers and UCLA Course of Study
• Archives New Zealand
  • Digital Recordkeeping
  • Electronic Recordkeeping Systems Standard June 2005
  • Electronic Records: A Vision and Policy November 2002
  • Email Fact Sheet
  • Guide to Recordkeping Strategies for Websites June 2006
  • Recordkeeping Publications
• Arizona State University. Preservation and Access for Electronic College and University Records [ECURE Conference]. October 1999-[ongoing].
• Armstrong, Scott, et al. v. Executive Office of the President (PROFS Case)
  • Plaintiff Opposition to Summary Judgement. July 6, 1992
  • Richey Decision. January 6, 1993 
  • Appeal. June 15, 1993  
  • Appeals Court Decision. July 19, 1993
  • Weinberger Legal Briefs. August 9, 1993
  • PROFS Case Update. April 7, 1994 
  • Plaintiff Memorandum. October 26, 1994 
• Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) International 
• Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative 
• Digital Record Exchange Standard. June 2008
• Digital Record Export Standard July 2007
• Chronicle of Higher Education. Information Technology
  • 'Superarchives' Could Hold All Scholarly Output, by Jeffrey R. Young. July 200
• Cohasset Associates, Inc.
• Council on Library and Information Resources
• Authenticity in a Digital Environment. May 2000
• Avoiding Technological Quicksand: Finding a Viable Technical Foundation for Digital Preservation, by Jeff Rothenberg. January 1998
• Capturing Analog Sound for Digital Preservation. March 2006
• Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists. October 2003
• Into the Future: On the Preservation of Knowledge in the Electronic Age, Discussion Guide. 1998 
• Overview of Technological Approaches to Digital Preservation and Challenges in Coming Years. July 2002
• Preserving the Whole: A Two-Track Approach to Rescuing Social Science Data and Metadata, by Ann Green, JoAnn Dionne, and Martin Dennis. June 1999
• Risk Management of Digital Information: A File Format Investigation. June 2000
• Cultivate Interactive
  • It Always Hurts the First Time: Experiences with transferred electronic records, by Marcel van Dijk. February 2003
• DigiCULT
  • Integrity and Authenticity of Digital Objects. August 2002
• Digitale Archivering in Vlaamse Instellingen en Diensten (DAVID) Project [Antwerp City Archives]
  • Archiving E-Mail. August 2002
  • Archiving Websites. July 2002 
  • Checklist for the IT Staff
  • Digital Archiving: The New Challenge? February 2005
  • The Digital Recordkeeping System: Inventory, Information Layers, and Decision-Making Model as Point of Departure. June 2001
  • Durable CDs
  • Durable Magnetic Media 
  • Standards for File Formats
  • XML and Electronic Recordkeeping
  • XML Topic Maps for Electronic Recordkeeping. 2002
• Digitale Duurzaamheid [Netherlands]
  • Animation on Email Preservation (Flash Movie)
  • Costs of Digital Preservation. May 2005
  • Databases Preservation Issues. April 2003
  • Digital Preservation Decision Model. January 2005
  • Email-XML Demonstrator: Technical Description. October 2002
  • Emulation: Context and Current Status. November 2003
  • Functional Requirements for a Preservation System. January 2005
  • Migration: Context and Current Status. December 2001
  • Preserving Databases. December 2003
  • Preserving Email: From Digital Volatility to Digital Permanance. June 2003
  • Preserving Spreadsheets. November 2003
  • Preserving Text Documents. December 2003
  • Technical Description of the Universal Virtual Computer (UVC) Data Preservation Process for Spreadsheets. January 2005 
  • XML and Digital Preservation. September 2002 
  • XML for Digital Preservation: XML Implementation Options for E-Mails. October 2002
• D-Lib Magazine
  • Preserving the Authenticity of Contingent Digital Objects. July/August 2000
• Doculabs
  • Recent Articles
• Electronic Resource Preservation and Access Network [ERPAnet]
• European Commission
• Model Requirements for Managing Electronic Records. March 2001
• Federal Computer Week on Records Management.  
• s - m d @ : Peer-Reviwed Journal on the Internet
  • Email and Potential Loss to Future Archives and Scholarship, or The Dog that Didn't Bark. September 1999
  • The Unnoticed Presidential Transition: Whither Whitehouse.gov? January 2001
• Getty Research Institute
  • Introduction to Imaging: Issues in Constructing an Image Database. 1995
  • Introduction to Metadata: Pathways to Digital Information
• Government Computer News
  • NARA's Web Archive Plan Irks Agencies. February 5, 2001
• Government of Newfoundland & Labrador
• Policy on the Management of Email Messages
• Harvard Law School. Digital Discovery CLE Library
  • Preservation Articles and Cases 
• Heery, Rachel
  • Review of Metadata Formats. January 1998
• Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. University Archives
  • Electronic Records Project 
• International Council on Archives.
  • Electronic Records: A Workbook for Archivists. April 2005
  • Electronic Records Management: A Literature Review. April 1996
  • Guide for Managing Electronic Records from an Archival Perspective. February 1997
  • Metadata and the Management of Current Records in Digital Form. July 2000
  • Networked Electronic Information in the Internet and Intranet Environments. August 2000
  • Principles and Functional requirements for Records in Electronic Office Environments - Module 1:Overview and Statement of Principles. 2008
  • Principles and Functional Requirements for Records in Electronic Office Environments – Module 2: Guidelines and Functional Requirements for Electronic Records Management Systems. 2008
• International Journal of Digital Curation
  • Digital Archive Policies and Trusted Digital Repositories. June 2007
• International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES Project).
  • Appraisal of Electronic Records: A Review of the Literature in English. May 2000
  • The Long-term Preservation of Authentic Electronic Records: Findings of the InterPARES Project
  • Survey of Preservation Practices and Plans. June 2001
  • Template for Analysis. November 2000
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model. January 2002
• Library and Archives Canada
• Email Management in the Government of Canada.
• Guidelines for Computer File Types, Interchange Formats, and Information Standards. June 2004 
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology. DSpace Digital Repository
  • Technology and Architecture. 2002
  • Training Materials
• McKemish, Sue, Adrian Cunningham and Dagmar Parer
  • Metadata Mania. August 1998
• Monash University [Australia]. School of Information Management and Systems
  • Publications
• Monash University [Australia]. Spirt Metadata Project
  • Recordkeeping Metadata standards for managing and accessing information resources in networked environments over time for government, commerce, social and cultural purposes.
• Morgan Lewis, Counselors at Law
  • Electronic Media and the Internet: Regulatory Guidance for Investment Advisers, Investment Companies, Broker-Dealers. April 2000
  • Focusing on Reasonableness and Cost Trends in eDiscovery and Records Retention. December 2003
  • The Liberalization of the Personal Knowledge Requirement for Admitting Business Records and Authenticating Evidence. February 2004
  • New Federal Law Takes Effect that Gives Legal Validity to Electronic Signatures and Records. November 2000
  • One Eye on Business Needs and One Eye on Future Litigation: Retention and Destruction of Electronically Stored Information. May 2002
  • Publications 
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
  • ISO Archiving StandardsReference Model Papers (for OAIS)
• National Archives of Australia
  • Archiving Web Resources March 2001
  • Email Metadata Standard. December 2005
  • Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS Manual) 
  • Publications
  • Recordkeeping Metadata Standard
• National Archives of Norway
  • NOARK: Norwegian Recordkeeping System Version 4. November 2002
• National Digital Archives of Datasets (NDAD)
  • Transfer Procedures
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
  • Data Preservation Program
• National Library of Australia
  • Email
  • Guidelines for the Selection of Online Australian Publications Intended for Preservation. August 2005
• National Media Laboratory
  • Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling: A Guide for Libraries and Archives. June 1995
• Open Archives Initiative
• Rust, Godfrey
  • Metadata: The Right Approach, An Integrated Model for Descriptive and Rights Metadata in E-commerce. July/August 1998
• San Diego Supercomputer Center. National Archives Electronic Records Management Project
  • Collection-Based Long-Term Preservation. June 1999
  • Collection-Based Persistent Archives
  • Configuring and Tuning Archival Storage Systems
  • Final Report. January 2001
  • Knowledge-Based Persistent Archives. January 2001
  • HPSS Performance Analysis
  • NHPRC Project Summary. June 1999
  • NHPRC ProposalMethodologies for the Long-Term Preservation of and Access to Software-Dependent Electronic Records. June 1999
• Sedona Conference Working Group
• The Sedona Principles: Second Edition. Best Practices Recommendations and Principles for Addressing Electronic Document Production. June 2007
• Society of American Archivists
  • Response by the Society of American Archivists to NARA Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. January 2002
• State Records New South Wales [Australia]
  • Digital Recordkeeping 
• State University of New York - Albany. Center for Technology in Government
  • Models for Action: Developing Practical Approaches to Electronic Records Management and Preservation. 1998
  • Opening Gateways: A Practical Guide for Designing Electronic Records Access Programs. January 2002
  • Practical Tools for Electronic Records Management and Preservation. January 1999
• Swiss Federal Archives
  • Archiving of Electronic Digital Data and Records in the Swiss Federal Archives (ARELDA). March 2001 
• telegraph.co.uk
  • Scientist Finds Fungus That Eats Through Compact Discs. June 2001
• United Kingdom. National Archives. Public Record Office
  • Digital Archiving
  • Exporting and Transferring Data Between Systems Checklist April 2007
  • Guidelines on Developing a Policy for Managing Email 2004
  • Managing Web Resources December 2001
  • PRONOM 
• Universal Preservation Format.
  • The Universal Preservation Format: A Recommended Practice for Archiving Media and Electronic Records.
  • Universal Preservation Format Glossary. 
• University of London Computer Centre (ULCC)
  • National Data Repository 
• University of Michigan/University of Leeds. CAMiLEON Project
  • BBC Domesday
  • CAMiLEON Reports and Research 
• University of Virginia Library and Cornell University. Fedora Project [open-source digital repository management system]
• U. S. Dept. of Defense
  • 5015.2-STD. Design Criteria Standard for Electronic Records Management Software Applications. June 2002.
• U. S. Dept. of the Interior
  • Managing Electronic Mail
• U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Records management policies, tips, and links.
• U. S. General Accounting Office
  • Information Management: Challenges in Managing and Preserving Electronic Records. June 2002
• U. S. Library of Congress
  • Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard (METS)
• U. S. National Archives and Records Administration
  • Electronic Records Archives Program
  • Electronic Records Archives Requirements Document
  • Electronic Records Work Group.
  • Federal Website Snapshot Information. January 2001
  • Preservation and Migration of Electronic Records: The State of the Issue, by Kenneth Thibodeau. 1999
  • Public Citizen v. John Carlin (regarding federal email and GRS 20)
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Opinion. October 22, 1997
    • U.S. District Court Memorandum Opinion and Order. April 9, 1998
    • U.S. District Court Memorandum Opinion and Order. September 29, 1998
    • U.S. Court of Appeals Opinion. August 6, 1999
    • Supreme Court Denies Certiorari. March 6, 2000
  • Records Management Guidance for Agencies Implementing Electronic Signature Technologies. October 2000
• U.S. News & World Report
  • Damn the Delete Key, by Randall E. Stross. January 2002
• Victoria, Australia. Public Record Office
  • Standard for the Management of Electronic Records. July 2003
  • Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS) Toolkit
• vnunet.com [UK technology news, reviews, and downloads]
  • The Perils of Digital Preservation, by Piers Ford. January 2003
• Wallace, David
  • Recordkeeping and Electronic Mail Policy: The State of Thought and the State of Practice. September 1998
• Wired
  • Daemon Seed: Old Email Never Dies, by David S. Bennahum. May 1999

Policies and Programs of Other States

• Alabama
  • Guidelines for the Use of Digital Imaging Technologies for Long-Term Government Records. April 1997
• Alaska
  • 4 AAC 59.005. Retention and Preservation of Electronic Records.
  • Answers to Questions about Email
• Arizona
  • Arizona Electronic Recordkeeping Systems Guidelines January 2003
  • Document Imaging Technology for Arizona Government Records. July 2002
  • Request for Document Imaging Implementation
• Arkansas
  • Electronic Record Management Guidelines for Arkansas State Government. October 2005
• California
  • Electronic Records Management Handbook. February 2002 
  • Specifications for Electronic Management Software. June 2001 
• Colorado
  • Electronic Messaging Guidelines
  • Optical Disk: Policy Statement and Recommended Practice 
  • Records Management Manual
• Connecticut
  • An Act Concerning the Recording, Copying and Maintenance of Certain Public Records. October 1997
  • Collection Policy for the State Archives in the Connecticut State Library
  • Electronic and Voice Mail: A Management and Retention Guide for State and Municipal Government Agencies. June 1998
  • Standards for the Use of Imaging Technology for Storage, Retrieval, and Disposition of Public Records. February 2001 
• Delaware
• Electronic Mail Policy. September 2002
• Guidelines for Maintaining and Preserving Records of Web-Based Activities. February 2002
• Model Guidelines for Electronic Records. December 2003
• Florida
  • Consultant Final Report on the Management of Electronic Records for State Archives and Records Management. 1998 
  • Records Management - Standards and Requirements - Recordkeeping Requirements. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 1B-26.003.
• Georgia
  
  • Adopting Electronic Records: Considerations for Government Officials
  • Electronic Document Imaging Systems Guidelines 
  • Electronic Document Management System Technologies. May 2002
  • Electronic Records Management: Checklist of Requirements. April 2002
  • Email Retention Guidelines. 2003
  • Practical Suggestions for Keeping Email. March 2004
  • Protecting Personal Information in Electronic Records: Managing Privacy and Access in E-Government. 2003-2004
• Hawaii
  • General Records Schedules
  • Law Regarding Electronic Government Records, Act 177. 2005
  • Policy and Guidelines Relating to Electronic Records Retention and Disposition. August 2001 
• Idaho
  • A Statement of Principles for the Preservation of and Long-Term Access to Digital Objects in Idaho
  • Storage of Public Records Standards
• Indiana
  • Electronic Records (section 7 of Record Coordinator's Handbook)
  • Imaging and Public Records: Basic Questions and Answers for Local and County Government Officials
  • Records Management : The Legal Framework of Records and Information Management in State Government
• Iowa
  • Attorney General Opinion on Public Records Law. August 2006
  • Reformatting Records: Microfilming, Digital Scanning, and Photocopying
  • See Iowa Code Chapter 22, Examining Public Records
  • See Iowa Code Chapter 305, Archives 
• Kansas
  • Digital Imaging Guidelines for State Government Records. February 2002
  • Electronic Recordkeeping Resources
  • Electronic Records Committee
  • Electronic Records Management Guidelines. March 2001
  • Guidelines for Managing Records on Kansas Government Agency Websites. January 2004
  • Kansas Electronic Recordkeeping Strategy: A White Paper. December 1999
  • Managing Electronic Mail. May 2002 
• Kentucky
  • Electronic Records Management Guidelines - File Formats. January 2004
  • Enterprise Architecture Standard 4060: Recordkeeping - Electronic Mail. May 2003
  • General Schedule for Electronic and Related Records. June 2002
  • Guidelines for Managing Email in Kentucky Government. June 2003
  • Understanding Records Management: Electronic Records
• Maine
  • Electronic and Voice Mail 2.0: A Management Guide for Maine State Government
• Maryland
  • Electronic Records Regulations. May 1998
• Massachusetts
  • Application of the Public Records Law to Electronic Records Access. June 1996
  • Backing Up and Archiving Electronic Records. January 1996
  • Electronic Mail. May 2003
  • Guideline for the Documentation of Electronic Record-Keeping Systems. April 2002
  • What is a Record? March 2002
• Michigan
  • Email Retention Guidelines
  • Email Retention Training
  • Email Storage Options
  • Frequently-Asked Questions about Electronic Recordkeeping for Local Governments
  • Frequently-Asked Questions about Email Retention. May 2006 
• Minnesota
  • Electronic Records Management Guidelines. February 2003
  • Legal Risk Analysis Tool
  • Metadata
  • Minnesota Recordkeeping Metadata Standard. May 2002
  • Trustworthy Information Systems Handbook. July 2002
• Mississippi
  • Electronic Records Applications
  • Electronic Records Draft Guidelines
  • Electronic Records Management Survey
  • Imaging Standards
• Missouri
  • Digital Imaging Guidelines. February 2001 
  • Managing E-Mail Records. February 2001
  • Missouri Electronic Records Education and Training Initiative (MERETI). October 2005
  • Three Things You Should Know about Electronic Records
• Montana
  • Email Guidelines. September 2006 
• Nebraska
  • Electronic Imaging Guidelines. March 2003 
  • Electronic Messaging and Electronic Mail (E-Mail Regulations. March 2003
  • Web Page Guidelines. March 2003 
• Nevada
  • Electronic Document Management and Imaging Systems Guidelines May 2000
  • Electronic Records Committee
  • Electronic Records Requirements 
  • Legal Requirements for Nevada's Public Electronic Records. 2005
• New Jersey
  • Imaging Certification. January 2004
  • Local Government Electronic Records
  • Managing Electronic Mail: Guidelines and Best Practices. July 2002
  • Storage of Public Records
• New Mexico
  • 1.13.20 NMAC. Storage of Electronic Media at the State Records Center and Archives
  • 1.13.70 NMAC. Performance Guidelines for the Legal Acceptance of Public Records Produced by Information Technology Systems
  • General Retention Schedules
• New York
  • 8 NYCRR Part 188. State Government Archives and Records Management Regulations
  • Conducting Needs Assessment for New Recordkeeping Systems. 2003
  • Electronic Document Management SystemsStandards. January 1997 
  • Guidelines for Determining if a Stand-Alone Imaging System Is the Best Choice For You. 1999 
  • Guidelines for Ensuring the Long Term Accessibility and Usability of Records Stored as Digital Images. 1998
  • Managing Email Effectively. 2002 
  • New York State Use of Electronic Mail. June 1996 
• North Carolina
  • Collection Procedures for State Government Websites Using Archive-It. July 2006
  • Electronic Records Policies
  • E-Mail as a Public Record in North Carolina: Guidelines for its Retention, and Disposition. August 2002
  • Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by Information Technology Systems. April 2000 
  • Procedures for Manual Collection of Web-Based Activities. July 2006
  • Program for Maintaining and Preserving Records of Web-Based Activities. July 2006
  • Public Database Indexing Guidelines. September 1996 
  • Recommended Data Formats. March 2007
  • Security Backup Files as Public Records in North Carolina: Guidelines for the Recycling, Destruction, Erasure, and Re-Use of Security Backup Files. August 2002
  • Standard for Automated Website Capture. July 2006
  • Website Content Assessment Table. July 2006
• North Dakota
  • Electronic Records Management Guidelines. September 1998
• Ohio
  • Databases as Public Records Guidelines
  • Digital Imaging Guidelines. June 2003
  • Electronic Records Committee
  • Electronic Records Policy
  • General Schedules for Administrative Electronic Records
  • Guidelines for Managing Electronic Mail
  • Guidelines for Managing Web Site Content. October 2002
  • Ohio Electronic Records Guidelines
  • Ohio Trustworthy Systems Handbook
• Oklahoma
  • General Records Disposition Schedule. January 2003
  • Oklahoma Archives and Records Commission Rules and Regulations
• Oregon
  • Email Retention and Disposition FAQ
  • Email Retention and Disposition Policy
• South Carolina
  • Managing E-mail April 1998
  • Preserving Evidence: Recommended Practices for Creating and Maintaining Legally Admissible Records on Automated Systems February 1999
  • Public Records Stored as Digital Images January 2001
  • Sample E-mail Policies April 1998
  • Storage & Handling Guidelines for Maintenance of Electronic Records of Long Term or Enduring Value May 1998
• Tennesee
  • See Tennesee Code Title 10 Chapter 7. Government Records Kept on Computer or Removable Computer Storage Media
• Texas
  • Electronic Filing and Recording by County Clerks. November 2000
  • Electronic Records
  • Electronic Records Research Report. November 1998
  • Electronic Records Standards and Procedures: State Agency Bulletin Number 1. March 2003
  • Electronic Records Standards and Procedures: Local Government Bulletin B. July 1998
  • Imaging and Microfilming Services
  • See Texas Local Government Code Title 6 Chapter 205. Electronic Storage of Records
• Vermont
  • Electronic Records: Introduction February 2001
  • Guidelines for Optical Imaging Systems
• Virginia
  • Electronic Mail (E-Mail) Retention Guidelines and Requirements
  • Electronic Records Guidelines. June 2002
  • Electronic Records Retention Schedule. October 1998
  • Maintenance, Retention and Disposition of Electronic Public Records Guidelines. 1991
  • Records Management Manual Chapter 7: Electronic Records
  • Retention, Maintenance & Disposition of Digitized Visual Public Records. January 1996
• Washington
  • Electronic Mail and Website Records, State General Retention Schedule Summer 2001
  • Records Management Guidelines for Local Government
• Wisconsin
  • Adm 12. Electronic Records Management Standards and Requirements. May 2001
  • Electronic Records Management: Guidance on Adm 12. November 2001
  • Electronic Records Program
  • Email Policy and Best Practices. University of Wisconsin - Madison
  • Email Policy and Guidance. October 1999
• Wyoming
  • Electronic History: Valuable Information at Risk
  • Electronic Imaging Policy for Political Subdivisions. July 2003
  • Executive Branch Electronic Mail (E-Mail) Policy December 1999

This page was last updated August 1, 2008.