Active Records
Records necessary for conducting the current business of the office and therefore kept in the office. Generally, active records are those referenced at least once a month. Also referred to as current records.
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Appraisal
The process of determining the worth and thus the disposition of records based on their long-term legal, fiscal, administrative, and historical values.
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Archives
Departmental or institutional records deemed worthy of permanent preservation because of their legal, fiscal, administrative, and historical value; also called archival materials or archival holdings. Also, the agency responsible for administering archival materials.
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Artificial Collection
A collection that is often composed of reference files that do not grow out of a special function. Artificial collections often contain records that do not have long-term value and should be kept separate from official copies or record copies.
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Disposition
The action taken with regard to records following their appraisal. Types of disposition include transfer to the archives for temporary storage, permanent retention, and destruction.
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Life Cycle
All records have a life cycle that includes the following stages: 1. creation/appraisal; 2. active use (maintained in office); 3. inactive (storage); 4. disposition (destruction or permanent preservation).
Non-current Records
Records no longer required in the conduct of current business and that are ready for final disposition. Also referred to as inactive records.
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Office of Origin
Office or department that creates a particular group of records in the conduct of business.
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Record Copy
Very often an original document designated for preservation and disposition.
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Records
All recorded information (regardless of medium or format) created or received and maintained by an organization in pursuit of its activities.
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Records Management
That area of general administrative management concerned with achieving accuracy, economy, and efficiency in the creation, use, maintenance, and disposition of records.
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Records Schedule
An approved list that identifies the length of time records series must be retained. Such a schedule includes instructions for final disposition and the length of the retention period. Also called a retention and disposition schedule.
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Records Series
Groups of related records that are normally maintained as a unit and that permit evaluation as a unit for retention scheduling purposes. Records series are comprised of records that are filed together and have similar physical format, relate to a particular subject or function, or result from a particular activity.
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Retention Period
The length of time that records must be kept before disposition. Usually expressed in terms of months or years, but sometimes expressed as contingent upon the occurrence of an event, such as an employee termination, contract closure, or audit. Permanently valuable materials have an indefinite retention period.
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Semi-current Records
Records required so infrequently in the conduct of current business that they should be transferred from the office but are not yet ready for final disposition.
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Vital Records
Records that must be protected in order to resume operations in the event of a disaster, those necessary to recreate the unit's legal and financial position, and those necessary to preserve the rights of the organization and its employees.
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Adapted from How to Keep Union Records: A Guide for Local Union Officers and Staff, by Debra Bernhardt (Silver Spring, MD: Labor's Heritage Press, 1992).
