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ELECTRONIC RECORDS AND DIGITAL IMAGING cl. wnen can 1 delete my email? A. Electronic mail is just as much a record as any traditional paper record, and must be treated in the same ways. It is the content of each message that is important. If a particular message would have been filed as a paper memo, it should still be filed (either in your email program or in your regular directory structure), and it should be retained the same length of time as its paper counterparts. It is inappropriate to destroy email simply because storage limits have been reached. Three of our publications will be particularly helpful (available online at http://www.ah.dcr state nc us/records/): • E-Mail as a Public Record in North Carolina: Guidelines for its Retention and Disposition; • E Mail User Guidelines Checklist; • North Carolina Public Records with Short-Tern? 1/alue.• Guidelines for their Retention and Disposition. Q. We have an imaging system. Do we have to keep the paper? A. You may scan any record, including permanent records. Your office should follow the instructions in the North Carolina Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by Information Technology Systems to conduct the Self Warranty process, develop an Electronic Records Policy, and complete a copy of the "Request to Destroy Records Duplicated by Electronic Means," Then submit all three to us. Permanent records must have a preservation copy as defined by G.S. §132-8.2: Preservation duplicates shall be durable, accurate, complete and clear, and such duplicates made by a photographic, photo static, microfilm, micro card, miniature photographic, or other process which accurately reproduces and forms a durable medium for so reproducing the original shall have the same force and effect for all purposes as the original record whether the original record is in existence or not. ... Such preservation duplicates shall be preserved in the place and manner of safekeeping prescribed by the Department of Cultural Resources. The preservation duplicate of permanent records must be either on paper or microfilm. Non-permanent records may be retained in any format. You will have to take precautions with records that you must keep more than about 10 years. Computer systems do not have long life cycles. Each time you change computer systems, you will have to convert all records to the new system so that you can assure their preservation and provide access. Your office will still be required to conduct the Self-Warranty process, establish an Electronic Records Policy, and submit the Request to Destroy Records Duplicated by Electronic Means form (located at the end of this schedule) for our approval. c (1. Lo 1 have to print my email to file it? A. As long as the email is not a permanent record, as defined by the schedule, you may elect to keep it in electronic format. Q. Computer storage is cheap. I'll just keep my computer records. A. The best practice is to destroy all records that have met their retention requirements at the same time, regardless of format. ll. 1 use my personal email account I'or work. No one can see my personal email. A. The best practice is to avoid using personal resources, including private email accounts, for public business. G.S. §132-1 states that records "made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions" are public records (emphasis added). The fact that public records reside in a personal email account is irrelevant. vn F-12 Attachment number 1 Page 248 of 627