Section 4.59.005. Retention and preservation of electronic records.

	(a)  A state agency shall establish internal procedures to comply with state archives and records management standards for creation, use, maintenance, storage, retention, preservation, and disposition of state records in an electronic format. The procedures shall   
		(1) integrate the management of electronic records with other records and information technology resources of the agency;  
		(2) identify the electronic records created, used, received, or maintained by the agency to ensure that the records appear on the agency's records retention schedule;   
		(3) ensure the development and maintenance of documentation of electronic records systems used by the agency that specifies the characteristics necessary for reading or processing the records, including a narrative description of the system and the physical and technical characteristics of the records;   
		(4) ensure the retention of the agency's electronic records until a disposition period has been approved by the state archivist, the attorney general, the commissioner of administration, and the agency head;   
		(5) ensure that an electronic record's content, context, and structure are evident and easily retrieved and understood;   
		(6) protect any confidential, privileged, proprietary, or security information;   
		(7) provide for the management of public records maintained on the agency's website to ensure that web content is trustworthy, complete, accessible, and durable for as long as the records retention schedule approved under this section requires;   
		(8) provide a security plan to prevent unintentional or unauthorized addition, modification, deletion, or corruption of electronic records and to ensure routine back-up of essential information against loss due to equipment malfunction, power interruption, human acts, and natural events;  
		(9) provide for the transfer of long-term and permanent electronic records from an existing system to a new system if it is evident that the existing system will become obsolete or inoperable;  
		(10) ensure that the agency's electronic records are durable for as long as the records retention schedule approved under this section requires; and  
		(11) ensure the consideration of the following factors before the selection of a storage media or the conversion of an electronic record from one media to another:    
			(A) the length of the retention period for the record;   
			(B) the maintenance necessary for the entire life cycle of the record;  
			(C) the cost of storing and retrieving the record;  
			(D) the time needed to retrieve the record;   
			(E) the portability of the medium, including the readability of medium by multiple manufacturers; and  
			(F) the transferability of the record from one medium to another.  
	(b)  A state agency shall create, capture, maintain, and store electronic records, in accordance with the following minimum standards to the extent possible:  
		(1) digital images on electronic records must be in a non-proprietary image format in wide usage;  
		(2) scanned images on electronic records must meet the following minimum scanning densities:   
			(A) standard letter quality records, 200 dots per inch;  
			(B) photographs and other higher quality or more detailed records, 400 dots per inch;  
			(C) engineering drawings, 200 dots per inch;  
			(D) deteriorating documents, 600 dots per inch;  
		(3) long-term and permanent back-up and security magnetic tapes maintained or stored on-site or in a state-approved facility must be kept at a constant temperature of 62 degrees to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and a constant relative humidity of 35 percent to 45 percent;  
		(4) electronic records must be stored in non-magnetic containers that are resistant to impact, dust intrusion, and moisture;  
		(5) non-magnetic containers described in (4) of this subsection must be stored at least six feet away from magnetic field sources, including generators, elevators, transformers, loudspeakers, microphones, headphones, magnetic cabinet latches, and magnetized tools;  
		(6) compact disks must be stored in hard cases and not in cardboard, paper, or plastic sleeves.  
	(c)  If the state archivist determines the electronic record as a temporary record under this chapter, the electronic record may be stored on any medium, including optical disk, that ensures the maintenance of the record until its disposal is authorized under AS 40.21  and this chapter.   
	(d)  The state archivist may accept into the state archives analog videodiscs and compact disks used for data, digital audio playback, or document storage.   
	(e)  Original photographs determined by the state archivist as permanent and copied onto a videodisc must be scheduled for transfer to the state archives along with a copy of the videodisc.   
	(f)  Permanent records must be transferred by an agency to the state archives when the agency becomes inactive or whenever the agency cannot provide proper care and handling of the record. Electronic records must be transferred by an agency to the state archives on paper, microforms, magnetic tape, or an electronic format otherwise meeting the requirements of this section. If the records are transferred on magnetic tape, the transferred tapes on which the information is recorded must be new tapes. If electronic records are transferred to the state archives, documentation adequate for servicing and interpreting the records must be transferred with the electronic records.   

Authorities

40.21.030;40.21.050;40.21.060

Notes

Authority

AS 40.21.030 AS 40.21.050 AS 40.21.060

History

Eff. 10/2/94, Register 131; am 10/18/2007, Register 184