Glossary of Recordkeeping Terms

The Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS) have compiled a glossary of recordkeeping terms. The glossary comprises generic definitions taken from international sources as well as definitions specific to the United Nations.

Browse the alphabetical list

A
Access	Right, opportunity, means of finding, using or retrieving information. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.1
Accountability	The principle that individuals, organizations and the community are responsible for their actions and may be required to explain them to others. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.2
Active records	Records in frequent use, regardless of their date of creation, required for current business relating to the administration or function of the organisation. Such records are usually maintained in office space and equipment close to hand.
Activity	Each function of an organisation may be broken down into a number of 'activities', a term used in the sense of a class of actions that are taken in accomplishing a specific function. The activities in turn may be broken down into a number of transactions.
Adequate	Records should be adequate evidence of the business activity to which they relate
Administrative records	Administrative records are common to most organizations. Examples include routine correspondence or interoffice communications; records relating to human resources, equipment and supplies, and facilities; reference materials, routine activity reports, work assignments, appointment books, and telephone logs. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Appraisal	The process of establishing the value of a record in order to establish retention periods
Archives	Records that are appraised to have archival value and the place where items of archival value are stored
Authenticity	An authentic record must have been created by the individual represented as the creator. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]

B
Born digital	Information created in electronic format
Business Analyst	Analysis of the operations and procedures of a department or functional unit
Business continuity	Procedures to ensure an organisation’s ability to continue operating outside of normal operating conditions

C
Capture	The process of determining that a record should be made and kept. This includes both records created and received by the organization. It involves deciding which documents are captured, which in turn implies decisions about who may have access to those documents and generally how long they are to be retained. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2, Clause 4.3.2
Classification	The process of identifying the category or categories of business activity and the records they generate and grouping them, if applicable, into files to facilitate description, control, links and determination of disposition and access status. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2, Clause 4.3.4
Code of Ethics	A written system of standards of ethical conduct including objectivity, honesty and diligence.
Collection	An artificial assemblage of documents accumulated on the basis of some common characteristic without regard to the provenance of those documents. Not to be confused with an archival fonds. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Conservation	The repair or stabilization of materials through chemical or physical treatment to ensure that they survive in their original form as long as possible. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Content	The intellectual substance of a document, including text, data, symbols, numerals, images, and sound. Along with context and structure, content is one of the three fundamental aspects of a record. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Context	The organizational, functional, and operational circumstances surrounding materials' creation, receipt, storage, or use, and its relationship to other materials. Along with content and structure, context is one of the three fundamental aspects of a record. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Copy	A duplicate made from an original
Creator	The individual, group or organization which produces a record
Custody	The responsibility for the care of documents based on their physical possession. Custody does not always include legal ownership or the right to control access to records. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1

D
Data	Facts and figures
Declassification	The process of making previously restricted materials available for general consultation
Decryption	A procedure which reverses transcription by translating cipher text into plain text by means of either a code or a cryptographic system
Description	The process of capturing, analyzing, organizing and recording information that serves to identify, manage, locate and explain archival materials and the context of records. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Destruction	The act of permanently disposing of records
Digital signature	A digital code that can be attached to an electronic document to uniquely identify the creator/sender
Digitisation	The conversion of analog material into a digital format for storage in a computer. For example scanning a paper document to create a digital copy.
Disaster plan	Written policies, procedures and information designed to mitigate the impact of threats to an organisation's records and to recover them in the event of a disaster.
Disaster recovery	The operation of restoring record collections and related operations after a disaster
Disclosure	The process of making records available for public access
Disposal	The transfer of records, especially noncurrent records, to their final state, either destruction or transfer to an archives. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Disposition	A range of processes associated with implementing records retention, destruction or transfer decisions which are documented in disposition authorities or other instruments. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.9
Distributed management	Distributed management is an electronic recordkeeping strategy whereby the agency which created the electronic records maintains them in their computing environment, migrating them to new hardware and software platforms as that environment changes. It addresses technological change by exploiting the creating agency's need to periodically migrate current data to new platforms: electronic records of longer-term value are transferred at the same time.
Document	Recorded information or object which can be treated as a unit. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.10

E
Electronic document management system (EDMS)	An automated system which provides creation and management controls for electronically created documents including electronic mail messages
EDRMS	An automated system which combines the functionality of an EDMS and an ERMS
Electronic mail records	Any messages created, sent or received within an email system that are required by an organization to control, support, or document the delivery of programmes, to carry out operations, to make decisions, or to account for activities
Electronic records	Records that are information and communication technology data, and which have: i) structure: the format of the electronic record and any links to attachments or other related documents; ii) content: the information in the structure of the electronic record conveying the evidence of the transaction; and iii) context: the information documenting the source in terms of the transaction to which it relates, creator, date, security and access, language, disposal, format etc. of the electronic record and which is normally separated in the structure from the content
Electronic records management system (ERMS)	An electronic records management system: an information system which captures and stores electronic records, including email messages as official records
Electronic signature	A digital mark, code, or other symbol that identifies an individual and that indicates responsibility for or consent to the content of the material to which it is affixed. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Email	An electronic postal system
Encryption	A security procedure which translates electronic data in plain text into a cipher code by means of either a code or a cryptographic system in order to render it incomprehensible without the aid of the original code or cryptographic system
Enterprise content management (ECM)	Technologies, tools, and methods used to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver content across an enterprise
Evidence	Material that is able to prove or disprove a fact
Evidential value	The quality of records that provides information about the origins, functions, and activities of their creator

F
File classification scheme	A system that describes standard categories and that is used to organize records with common characteristics
Filing system	Policies and procedures directing how files should be stored and indexed in order to ensure their retrieval, use, and disposition. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Finding Aid	The broadest term to cover any description or means of reference made or received by an archives service in the course of establishing administrative or intellectual control over archival material. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Fonds	The whole of the records, regardless of form or medium, organically created and / or accumulated and used by a particular person, family, or corporate body in the course of that creator's activities and functions. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Function	The top/macro level of business activity in an organisation
Functional analysis	The analysis of business activity into the hierarchical structure of functions, activities and transactions

G

H
Hygrothermograph	A device for recording atmospheric humidity and temperature over time [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]

I
Inactive records	Records no longer needed on a day to day basis but may be required for administrative, legal or historical reasons
Information	Data, irrespective of medium, in context
Information security	The policies, procedures and practices required to maintain and provide assurance of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.
Informational value	The value of records based on their content
Instant messaging	Exchange of messages in real time between parties over a computer network
Intellectual control	Creation of tools, such as catalogues and finding aids, to facilitate access to the informational content of records and archives
Interim Archives	the HQ Records Centre where ARMS keeps records which will not be kept permanently as part of the UN Archives. Such records will ultimately be destroyed.
ISAD(G)	International Standard for Archival Description (G) A standard published by the International Council on Archives that establishes general rules for the description of archival materials, regardless of format, to promote consistent and sufficient descriptions, and to facilitate exchange and integration of those descriptions. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
ISO 15489	Information Documentation - Records Management. An international standard which establishes principles for creation, capture, maintenance and management over time in appropriate systems of records, irrespective of their format.

J

K

L
Local Archive	Low cost, warehouse style storage used for semi active and inactive records – see Secondary Storage

M
Medium	The physical material, container, and / or carrier in or on which information is recorded (i.e., paper, film, magnetic tape). General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Metadata	Data describing context, content and structure of records and their management through time . International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.12
MoReq	Model specifications for electronic records management system requirements.

N

O
Office of Records	The office of record is the office or administrative unit that has been designated for the maintenance, preservation and disposition of record (official) copies.
Official Document	The official publications of the United Nations (see UN Document)
Official Record	master or official copy of a UN record
Original order	The order in which records or archives were kept when in active use

P
Preservation	Processes and operations involved in ensuring the technical and intellectual survival of authentic records through time. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.14
Provenance	The relationship between records and the organizations or individuals that created, accumulated, and / or maintained and used them in the conduct of personal or corporate activity. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1

Q

R
Recordkeeping	The systematic creation, use, maintenance, and disposition of records to meet administrative, programmatic, legal, and financial needs and responsibilities. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Recordkeeping systems	Information systems which capture, maintain and provide access to records through time. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.17
Record/s	Any data or information, regardless of its form or medium, maintained by the United Nations as evidence of a transaction
Record series	Documents arranged in accordance with a filing system or maintained as a unit because they result from the same accumulation or filing process, or in the same activity; have a particular form,; or because of some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use. General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Section 0.1
Record centre	A facility used for low-cost storage of inactive and semicurrent records before those records are destroyed or transferred to an archives. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Records creation	The first stage in the records lifecycle
Records lifecycle	A mapping of the stages in the life of a record from creation to destruction or transfer to archives
Records management	Field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.16
Records management programme	A records management programme is the programme conducted on an organisation-wide basis for the management of records, recordkeeping activities and recordkeeping systems.
Records Survey	The process of gathering basic information about an organization's records, including their quantity, form, location, physical condition, storage facilities, rate of accumulation, and associated business processes. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Redaction	The process of masking some of the content of a record before making it available for consultation
Registration	In those systems where registration is used, its purpose is to provide evidence that a record has been created or captured in a records system. It involves recordkeeping brief descriptive information about the record in a register, and assigning the record a unique identifier. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2. Clause 4.3.3
Registry	A paper recordkeeping or filing system run by staff tasked with the creation and management of files (including storage and tracking) is centralised
Reliable	Having authority and trustworthiness as evidence Electronic Archivists Workbook. ICA 2005
Retention schedule	A comprehensive instruction covering the disposition of records to assure that they are retained for as long as necessary based on their administrative, fiscal, legal and historic value.
Risk analysis and assessment	An evaluation of the potential threats to, the likelihood of their occurring and their impact on records and archives
Risk management	The systematic control of losses or damages, including the analysis of threats, implementation of measures to minimize such risks, and implementing recovery programmes. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]

S
Scanner	An optical device that transforms an analog image into a graphics image readable by a computer.
Secondary storage	Low cost, warehouse style storage used for semi active and inactive records – see Local Archive
Semi-active records	Records which are referred to infrequently and therefore are typically stored away from the work area
Sentencing	The act of applying a retention schedule to records
Series	A group of similar records that are arranged according to a filing system and that are related as the result of being created, received, or used in the same activity [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Sling psychrometer	An instrument used to measure relative humidity
Standards	A benchmark or reference to establish desirable quality or practice
Structure	The manner in which elements are organized, interrelated, and displayed. Along with content and context, structure is one of the three fundamental aspects of a record. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Substantive records	Records related to the core activities of an organisation i.e. those activities which are distinctive to the organisation.

T
Taxonomy	An intellectual structure which arranges items into groups and subgroups based on predetermined rules
Thesaurus	A thesaurus is a controlled list of terms linked together by semantic, hierarchical, and associative or equivalence relationships. Such a tool acts as a guide to allocating classification terms to individual records. International Standard ISO/TR15489-2,Clause 4.2.3.2
Tracking	Creating, capturing and maintaining information about the movement and use of records. International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.19
Transaction	The smallest unit of business activity
Transfer	The process of moving records as part of their lifecycle
Transitory records	Any data or information required for only a limited time to ensure the completion of a routine action or the preparation of a subsequent record.

U
UN documents	The official publications of the United Nations (see Official Document)

V
Version control	Techniques, especially in an automated environment, to control access to and modification of documents and to track versions of a document when it is revised. [SAA: Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology]
Vital records	The records which are necessary to ensure the ongoing operation of an organisation in the event of a disaster or other disruption to normal operating conditions [e.g. power outage]

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