CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 42.1-77)

As used in this chapter:

   “Agency” means all boards, commissions, departments, divisions,
   institutions, authorities, or parts thereof, of the Commonwealth or its
   political subdivisions and includes the offices of constitutional
   officers.”Archival quality” means a quality of reproduction
   consistent with established standards specified by state and national agencies
   and organizations responsible for establishing such standards, such as the
   Association for Information and Image Management, the American National
   Standards Institute, and the National Institute of Standards and
   Technology.”Archival record” means a public record of continuing
   and enduring value useful to the citizens of the Commonwealth and necessary to
   the administrative functions of public agencies in the conduct of services and
   activities mandated by law that is identified on a Library of Virginia
   approved records retention and disposition schedule as having sufficient
   informational value to be permanently maintained by the
   Commonwealth.”Archives” means the program administered by The
   Library of Virginia for the preservation of archival
   records.”Board” means the State Library
   Board.”Conversion” means the act of moving electronic records to a
   different format, especially data from an obsolete format to a current
   format.”Custodian” means the public official in charge of an
   office having public records.”Disaster plan” means the information
   maintained by an agency that outlines recovery techniques and methods to be
   followed in case of an emergency that impacts the agency’s
   records.”Electronic record” means a public record whose creation,
   storage, and access require the use of an automated system or device.
   Ownership of the hardware, software, or media used to create, store, or access
   the electronic record has no bearing on a determination of whether such record
   is a public record.”Essential public record” means records that
   are required for recovery and reconstruction of any agency to enable it to
   resume its core operations and functions and to protect the rights and
   interests of persons.”Librarian of Virginia” means the State
   Librarian of Virginia or his designated representative.”Lifecycle”
   means the creation, use, maintenance, and disposition of a public
   record.”Metadata” means data describing the context, content, and
   structure of records and their management through time.”Migration”
   means the act of moving electronic records from one information system or
   medium to another to ensure continued access to the records while maintaining
   the records’ authenticity, integrity, reliability, and
   usability.”Original record” means the first generation of the
   information and is the preferred version of a record. Archival records should
   to the maximum extent possible be original records.”Preservation”
   means the processes and operations involved in ensuring the technical and
   intellectual survival of authentic records through time.”Private
   record” means a record that does not relate to or affect the carrying
   out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official ceremonial duties of a
   public official, including the correspondence, diaries, journals, or notes
   that are not prepared for, utilized for, circulated, or communicated in the
   course of transacting public business.”Public official” means all
   persons holding any office created by the Constitution of Virginia or by any
   act of the General Assembly, the Governor and all other officers of the
   executive branch of the state government, and all other officers, heads,
   presidents or chairmen of boards, commissions, departments, and agencies of
   the state government or its political subdivisions.”Public record”
   or “record” means recorded information that documents a
   transaction or activity by or with any public officer, agency or employee of
   an agency. Regardless of physical form or characteristic, the recorded
   information is a public record if it is produced, collected, received or
   retained in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public
   business. The medium upon which such information is recorded has no bearing on
   the determination of whether the recording is a public record.For purposes of
   this chapter, “public record” shall not include nonrecord
   materials, meaning materials made or acquired and preserved solely for
   reference use or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only
   for convenience or reference, and stocks of publications.

“Records retention and disposition schedule” means a Library of
Virginia-approved timetable stating the required retention period and
disposition action of a records series. The administrative, fiscal, historical,
and legal value of a public record shall be considered in appraising its
appropriate retention schedule. The terms “administrative,”
“fiscal,” “historical,” and “legal” value
shall be defined as:

   1.  “Administrative value”: Records shall be deemed of
   administrative value if they have continuing utility in the operation of an
   agency.

   2.  “Fiscal value”: Records shall be deemed of fiscal value if
   they are needed to document and verify financial authorizations, obligations,
   and transactions.

   3.  “Historical value”: Records shall be deemed of historical
   value if they contain unique information, regardless of age, that provides
   understanding of some aspect of the government and promotes the development of
   an informed and enlightened citizenry.

   4.  “Legal value”: Records shall be deemed of legal value if they
   document actions taken in the protection and proving of legal or civil rights
   and obligations of individuals and agencies.

HISTORY: 1976, c. 746; 1977, c. 501; 1981, c. 637; 1987, c. 217; 1990, c. 778;
1994, cc. 390, 955; 1998, cc. 427, 470; 2005, c. 787; 2006, c. 60.