Managing Electronic Records

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) defines records as “all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, or other documentary materials regardless of physical form or characteristics prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by a public body”.

Electronic records of state and local governments are subject to the same controls and legal requirements as paper documents and information on other media. Electronic records include all documents, applications, databases, spreadsheets, and other materials made by any microcomputer, minicomputer, or mainframe.

The retention schedule for the paper record can apply to the documents on the PC. However, if you generate records on a PC that will constitute a new record series with no paper equivalent, you need a schedule for them.