IARA County/Local Records Management - Duplicates & Non-Records

Greetings County/Local Agencies,

Several of you have inquired about multiple copies of records, also known as duplicates, and what to do with records not related to your agency, also known as non-records. So I figured an email about both duplicates and non-records would be helpful. See an explanation below and how to go about destroying those records. 

The Copy of Record: When you're dealing with duplicates, whether they're in the same format as the original, or a different format, you'll need to determine which version is the Copy of Record, with all other versions being a duplicate. As long as the information is the same, you get to decide which version that is. The Copy of Record does not need to be the original. It doesn't even need to remain the same copy over the lifetime of the record: if you duplicate a paper record in microfilm format, you might decide that the microfilm is now the Copy of Record and destroy the paper originals.

The Copy of Record is whichever version of the information your office currently uses to fulfill the legal retention requirements for that type of information.
As long as
• the information is an authentic duplicate
• the format and medium meet IARA standards (60 IAC 2 for microfilm, and OCPR Policy 20-02 for electronic records) then any version of the information can be the Copy of Record.

Non-Records: A non-record is any piece of recorded information you might have in your government office that:

• does NOT document the activities of your office, such as:
  o reference and training materials used by your office but not created by it
  o publications that you did not create, even if they're from another government office
  o advertising material you receive, whether in paper or electronic (e-mail) form
  o personal papers or correspondence of someone in your office that don't relate to their government job

or

• is a duplicate of information that is a public record, such as:
  o a copy of your information in the same format as the original (for instance, photocopies or duplicate electronic files)
  o a copy of the same information in another format (for instance, microfilm, scanned records, or a paper printout of an electronic record)
  o information about your office that is published by another government office (for instance, an Audit Report created by the State Board of Accounts – this is a public record, but it's the responsibility of the SBOA to retain it. Yours is just a copy for reference.)

Destruction: The following items may be destroyed at any time, once they are no longer needed/useful for your office:
• Copies of a public record that are NOT the Copy of Record
• Non-record materials

You do not need prior permission from IARA or your County Commission of Public Records, nor do you need to notify anyone afterward. You don't need to need to fill out any forms or follow the other destruction
procedures because these things are not considered records. Duplicates of confidential materials are still confidential, though, and must be destroyed in a confidential manner.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what the Copy of Record, duplicates, and non-records are and how to destroy them.

Hope your April is springing along!

AMY CHRISTIANSEN JANICKI

Records Management Liaison

Indiana Archives and Records Administration

o: 812-929-3882

e: achristiansenjanicki@iara.in.gov |

w: www.in.gov/iara

a: 402 W Washington St, Room W472, Indianapolis, IN 46204

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