For The Record

Revised rules help municipalities digitize public records

We live in a new world. While computers have been around for nearly 80 years now and the internet for 40; the last 20 years have seen an incredible transformation of society unlike any other time in the history of mankind. Speed, capacity, transportability, all these things have increased in a way that have changed our ability to interact with our world. Gone is the ephemera of yesteryear. For towns and cities, they wonder what that means for their historical paper documents. Updated guidelines from the State Library will help towns and cities “pursue digitization goals responsibly and defensibly.”

The Office of the Public Records Administrator and the State Archives have been developing a revision of procedures for municipalities who are in the process of digitization of original paper records known as Public Records Policy 04: Electronic Records Management, or PRP 04, which became effective in 2022. Towns and cities are no longer required to submit a digitization policy to the OPRA, but will simply have to use a form to request permission to dispose of original paper records stored as digital images.

Public agencies must submit an appropriate form from the following list to request approval to dispose of paper records after scanning:

• For less-than-permanent records that have already been digitized or one-time scanning projects of old- er records, submit Form RC-040. This form supersedes Form RC-075.1.

• Municipal: Form RC-040: Authorization for Disposal of Original Non-Permanent Paper Records Stored as Digital Images

• For less-than-permanent records that will be digitized and disposed on an ongoing basis when received or created, submit annual certification Form RC-045. This form must be re-submitted yearly.

• Municipal: Form RC-045: Annual Certification for Disposal of Original Non-Permanent Paper Records Stored as Digital Images

• For permanent or life of structure records, submit Form RC-245: Certification for Disposal of Original Permanent/Life of Structure Records Stored as Digital Images

In an email about the new procedures, questions you may have about the new procedures can be sent to Nicole Marino at nicole.marino@ct.gov

There will likely be a time when paper files are all but a part of history – everything will be accessed digitally, filed digitally, and stored permanently on a great big server. But we are in a transitory stage, with one foot in the world of paper and one foot in the digital realm. As we bridge the gap, work must not be lost, and the revised procedures laid out by OPRA will help municipalities to reach their digitization goals.