29SECRETARYOFSTATE.doc

29 SECRETARY OF STATE 255 MAINE STATE ARCHIVES Chapter 10: RULES FOR DISPOSITION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS SUMMARY: This chapter governs the disposition of local government records. 1. DEFINITIONS A. Appraisal means the archival process of determining the value and thus the disposition of records based on a study of their use, their subject content, their arrangement, their relationship to function and organization, and their relationship to other records. B. Current Records means records needed and used in the day-to-day conduct of the current business of a local government office or official, and which therefore must be kept in office space and equipment for that purpose. C. Disposition includes all actions taken with regard to semi-current and non-current records following their appraisal. These actions include (1) transfer of semi-current records to a temporary storage area or to a records center; (2) transfer of non-current records having archival value to a designated archival depository; (3) reproduction on microfilm or optical disk with or without destruction of the originals; and (4) destruction. D. Non-Current Records means records which no longer have value--administrative, legal or fiscal--for the current business of the originating office or official, and which should be disposed of in accordance with law or rule. E. Record means all documentary material, regardless of media or characteristics, made or received and maintained by a local government agency in accordance with law or rule or in the transaction of its official business. F. Records Disposition Schedule means a listing of record series with retention periods as appropriate for their current and semi-current phases, and an indication or their ultimate disposition. G. Record Series means file units (folders or volumes) or documents arranged in accordance with a filing system, or maintained as a unit because they relate to a particular function, result from the