South Carolina State Laws on Optical Images
State Archivist and Records Manager:
George L. Vogt, Director
Dept. of Archives & History
PO Box 11669, Columbia SC 29211
803-734-8592 fax: 803-734-8964
Roy H. Tryon, State Archivist & Records Administrator
1919 Blanding St., Columbia SC 29201
803-734-7914 fax: 803-734-3387
tryon@archives.scdah.sc.edu
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
1430 Senate Street, P.O. Box 11,669, Columbia, South Carolina 29211 (803) 734-8577
State Records (803) 734-7914; Local Records (803) 734-7917
Dear Mr. Vogt:
Presently, there are no state laws in South Carolina that
specifically authorize the admissability of digital images as
evidence in court. The South Carolina Department of Archives and
History has issued a policy statement (copy enclosed) that states
the department's position regarding the use of optical disk
technology for the maintenance of public records. The policy does
authorize state and local governments to use optical disk systems
for the maintenance of public records provided certain conditions
are met.
Please call me if you need anything else or if you have
questions.
Sincerely,
William P. Henry
Electronic Records manager
henry@history.scdah.sc.edu
Enclosure
Public records information leaflet no. 13
Optical disk:
policy statement and
recommended practices
South Carolina Department
of Archives and History
Archives and Records
Management Division
Policy statement The South Carolina Department of Archives and History placed
this policy into effect on to March 1995. It supercedes the policy
placed into effect on 3 February 1992.
Purpose: This policy clarifies the position of the South Carolina
Department of Archives and History regarding the use of optical
disk technology for the maintenance of public records, as defined
by Section 3o-4-zo (c) of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as
amended.
Authority: Sections 30+80 through 30-1-1oo of the Code of Laws of
South Carolina, 1976, as amended, provide the authority for the
establishment of this policy.
Scope: This policy statement applies to the records of all public
bodies as defined by Section 3o-1-10 of the Code of Laws of South
Carolina, 1976, as amended.
Statement: To ensure accessibility, reduce the risk of premature
disposition, and preserve records of permanent (archival) value,
the following policy is established for the disposition of public
records stored on optical disk:
[Special note: This policy does not supercede existing laws and
regulations (federal, state, or local) that require the maintenance
of public records and documents in a prescribed format.]
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Public records information leaflet no. 13
Records with State and local government officials can maintain public
an estab!ished records with an established retention* of ten years or less in
retention of an optical disk system and can dispose of the originals after
ten years or less receiving an authorization for disposal from the South Caro-
lina Department of Archives and History. If the records are
vital records, a security copy should be stored off-site in a
secure location.
Non-permanent State and local government officials can maintain non-per-
records with an manent public records with an established retention* of
established more than ten years in an optical disk system and dispose of
retention of the originals provided they:
more than
I. maintain security copies of the disks and indexes in off-site
ten years
storage.
z. either migrate and convert both the working and security
copies of the disks and indexes if optical systems are up-
graded or changed in a way that prevents access to the
contents of the disks created by the old system or recopy to
new disks every ten years, whichever occurs first.
3. sample both the working and security copies of the disks
and indexes at least once a year to make sure the data is
readable and recopy to new disk immediately if any loss of
information is detected.
4. obtain an authorization for disposal in advance from the
South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
[Those not able to ensure compliance with 1-4 above must
retain a paper record or a microform that meets state stan-
dards** for the established retention period.]
IRecords of Records of permanent value* that are scheduled for transfer
permanent value to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Transfers to and are maintained in optical disk systems will be authorized
Archives for disposal only after a paper record or a microform that
meets state standards** has been transferred to the South
Carolina Department of Archives and History. To provide
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Public records information leaflet no. 13
access to the information in all paper and microform records
transferred to the Department, the records must include
appropriate indexes or other finding aids.
Non-transfers Public records of permanent value* that are maintained in
an optical disk system but not scheduled for transfer to the
Department can be disposed of provided state and local
government officials comply with 1-4 above. If the optical disk
is the original medium for the records--as it is with the
procedural or transactional recording of deeds, for example--
we highly recommend the generation and permanent reten-
tion of either paper copies or microforms that meet state
standards.** If paper or microform copies are not to be
generated and retained, state and local government officials
must certify in writing their intention to complywith 1-4 above
before using the optical disk system.
[Those not able to ensure compliance with 1-4 above must
retain permanently a paper record or a microform that
meets state standards.**]
*Retention values must be established through approved records reten-
tion schedules developed in accordance with section 3o+9o of the Code
of Laws of South Carolina, ,976, as amended.
**Quality Standards and Practices for the Microfilming of Public Records
(Regulations iz-zoo through 12-203, Code of Laws of South Carolina, ,976, as
amended)
Recommendations The Department recommends the use of the following guide-
for the selection lines for the design, selection, and operation of optical disk
and use of systems. These guidelines and practices will help you pro-
optical systems duce records and copies that will be acceptable in legal
proceedings; they will enable you to maintain and retrieve
information in ways that will meet your statutory obligations
and operational needs as a records custodian; and they will
help you to fulfill public requests. These considerations are
--- particularly important for records that must be kept for a
long time or permanently.
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Public records information leaflet no. 13
Legally-acceptable To ensure the acceptance of government records as legal
records management documents, you should maintain and dispose of those records
program --including records stored in optical systems--as part of a
legally-acceptable records management program. To con-
duct such a records management program, you should:
· Include every record and all reproductions on records
retention schedules that adequately describe the records and
define the period for their retention and manner of disposi-
tion. These schedules, which must be approved by the De-
partment, are of two types:
Specific Schedules:. These schedules are written for records
that are unique to a particular agency, office, or
jurisdiction. They may list the different physical forms of
each record separately (e.g., paper, magnetic tape or disk,
microfilm, optical disk) because each form may have
a unique use, value, and retention period.
General Schedules: These schedules cover categories of
records that many offices and agencies have in common;
they typically do not specify particular physical forms.
When you implement general schedules, however, you
must take into account the various reproduction and
storage requirements of these physical forms.
· Carry out records retention and disposition procedures
systematically as part of the regular course of business.
· Maintain the documentation that supports the develop-
ment and implementation of retention schedules.
· Regularly dispose of records when their retention period
has expired, either through destruction or transfer to an
archival repository, as the schedule specifies.
Other legal Government offices and agencies must maintain data in
considerations optical storage systems according to the terms of the South
Carolina Freedom of Information Act (Sections 30-4-10
through 30-4-IIO of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as
amended). This act categorizes records as either restricted
from or open to the public. You must adopt procedures that
protect restricted records from unauthorized access and
allow access to open records. Other laws applicable to par-
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Public records information leaflet no. 13
ticular governmental jurisdictions, functions, or records may
require you to restrict specific records or information within
certain records. Your procedures should cover these records
as well.
Selection and use of Optical storage systems require hardware (equipment) and
optical storage software (computer programs) to retrieve and translate in-
systems formation into an eye-readable form. Because the storage
medium itself is not permanent, you must select an appro-
priate system and operate it in away that will let you retain and
retrieve information over time as hardware and software
change and the optical disks deteriorate physically.
Since few nationally-accepted standards have been set for
optical systems, the Division of Archives and Records Man-
agement offers the following suggestions to help you use this
technology. These recommendations represent generally
accepted principles and practices and address issues of con-
cern. In this changing technical environment, these recom-
"-' mendations will help you to keep your records accessible
and your programs in conformity with national standards as
they are developed. This subject is discussed in detail in a
technical report issued by the Association for Information
and Image Management, The Use of Optical Disks for Public
Records1
System documentation: If you wish to maintain an effective
operation and continue to retrieve data as your operating
environment changes over time, you must keep full docu-
mentation of:
· Hardware and software, including brand names, version
numbers and dates of installation, upgrades, replacements,
and conversions.
· Data structure and content, including the file layout and
data dictionaries.
· "Enhancement" algorithms.
1Association for Information and Image Management. Technical Report for
Information and Image Management--The Use of Optical Disks for Public Records
[AIIM RE25-:1990] (Silver Spring, MD: AIIM, I99o).
Public records information leaflet no. 13
· Operating procedures, including methods for scanning or
entering data; revising, updating, or expunging records;
indexing; backing up to disks, tapes, microfilm, etc.; testing
the readability of records; applying safeguards to prevent
tampering and unauthorized access to protected informa-
tion; and carrying out the disposition of original records. In
addition, to provide audit trails, you should document
procedures for logging and tracking. Full documentation of
your operating procedures will contribute to the legal
acceptability of your records management program and
will help to make the data you produce from optical disks
admissable as evidence in legal proceedings.
Hardware and software:
· When you are selecting a system, strongly consider those
with open rather than proprietary designs; open systems will
give you the most flexibility when you are choosing equip-
ment and will support interconnection, information system
integration, and information sharing.
· Prepare specifications for hardware and software that will
require your vendors to continue to support and maintain
their products.
· Establish performance standards, incorporate them into
your specifications for hardware and software, and require
vendors to support them with a substantial performance
bond.
· Select systems that provide enough scanning resolution
to produce a high-quality image. Validate the quality of the
image by testing with actual documents.
· Seek vendors who use standard rather than proprietary
compression algorithms and file headers to make future
migrations of data more certain and reliable. If vendors use
proprietary algorithms, they must be able to demostrate
their capacity to bridge to standard compressions and file
headers.
· Require vendors to supply programs or provide services to .-.-'
test the readability of your disks periodically.
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Public records information leaflet no. 13
· Consider systems that will allow you to index or incorpo-
rate other retrieval information directly onto both the optical
disk and the computer hard disk.
Verification and inspection: Include visual inspection in your
operational procedures to verify the completeness and accu-
racy of the scanning process once documents have been
transferred to a disk.
Indexing: When information is stored in a medium that is not
eye-readable, complete and accurate indexes are essential.
Your system design, therefore, must include provisions for
appropriate indexing. When information will be retrieved
for many years--from records that will be retained and used
over a long period, for example--you must develop and
document indexes with future users in mind and include in
your operational procedures an index check for accuracy at
the time the index is created.
Labelling: Label disks, tapes, and other storage containers
with particular care since it is impossible to determine con-
tent merely by looking at a disk or tape.
Back-up and storage: It is vital to make full, frequent, and
regular backups of optical records and magnetic indexes.
Store your security copies in secure and suitable facilities,
preferably off-site, and since environmental conditions for
the storage of optical disks have not been established, follow
the manufacturers' specifications. If you transfer images
stored on magnetic media to optical disk, you should back up
the magnetic media before the transfer and then back up the
optical disk after it.
Refreshment, migration, and conversion plans: Prepare an
appropriate plan for "refreshing" data and for migrating and
converting images and corollary indexes to new storage
media as needed to preserve the records in an accessible form.
Risk management: Develop a comprehensive risk or disaster
prevention and recovery plan.
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Public records information leaflet no. 13
IFor more information Directyour comments, suggestions, and questions about this
leaflet to:
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Archives and Records Management Division
i9i9 Blanding Street
Columbia, South Carolina z92oi
Telephone: (803) 734-7914
Fax: (803) 734-3387
Public information no. 1 Legal requirements for microfilming public records
leaflets from (1992)
the Archives no. 2 On choosing records for microfilming (1992)
no. 3 Service bureau or in-house microfilming (1992)
no. 4 Targeting and certification of microfilm (I992)
no. 5 Choosing a microfilm camera (1992)
no. 6 Quality testing of microfilm (X992)
no. 7 Microfilm and microforms (1992)
no. 8 Choosing a micrographics service bureau (1992)
no. 9 Choosing microfilm readers and reader/printers
(I992)
no. 1o Computer assisted retrieval systems (1992)
no. n Microfilm storage (1992)
no. i2 Preservation microfilming (I992)
no. x3 Optical disk: policy statement and recommended
practices (revised I995)
no. 14 Storing records in the State Records Center (1993)
no. i5 The deposit of security microfilm 0993)
no. 16 Disaster preparedness and recoveryin state and local
government records offices (I993)
no. 17 How to conduct a records inventory (I993)
no. 18 How to establish records retention schedules 0993)
no. I9 Photographic media (to be announced)
no. 20 Editing and splicing roll microfilm of long-term or
archival value (I994) ·
March 1995
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