Section 4500.20  Definitions

Act – The Local Records Act [50 ILCS 205].

Agency – Any court within Cook County; all parts, boards, departments, bureaus and commissions of Cook County; and any municipal corporation or political subdivision within Cook County. [50 ILCS 205/3] 

Analog Records – Records created and maintained on a physical medium.  Examples include, but are not limited to, paper documents, analog motion picture film, analog photographs and analog audio tape.

Application for Authority to Dispose of Local Records – Also referred to as a Records Retention Schedule, the document stating the official retention, maintenance and disposition requirements for a record series, or type of record, based on administrative, fiscal, legal or archival values for the scheduled records. This schedule is of no force unless approved by the Local Records Commission (see Section 7 of the Act).

Authentic Copy – A reproduction of a record that duplicates the content of the original record and that has been certified as authentic by the creating agency so that it may be submitted as legal evidence.

Born-Digital Records – Records created in a digital format, as opposed to those created in other media and then converted to digital surrogates.  Examples include, but are not limited to, word processing documents, electronic spreadsheets and digital photographs.

Commission – The Local Records Commission of Cook County created by Section 6 of the Act to determine what local agency records no longer have any administrative, fiscal, legal, research or historical value and should no longer be retained.

Database – A collection of data elements organized in such a way that a computer program can select desired pieces of data.  A database is typically used as an electronic filing system through which users can quickly sort and retrieve data as necessary.

Digital Surrogate – A reproduction of content on analog media that has been scanned, photographed, encoded or otherwise converted to a digital file that, when printed, viewed or played, replicates the original content.

Digitization Process – The methods, tools and procedures by which a digital surrogate is created for an original record.  Examples include scanning and encoding of audio/video signals into digital data.

Electronic Microimaging – Any process in which digital documents or images (scanned or born-digital) are converted to permanent record microfilm.

Electronic Record – A record generated, communicated, received or stored by electronic means.  Both born-digital records and digital surrogates of analog records are considered electronic records.  Databases or components of databases may or may not be considered records, depending upon their function and contents.  Electronic records can be contained in various storage media.

Fiscal Value – Those aspects of records containing monetary information that accounts for the receipt or expenditure of funds.

Geographic Redundancy – The practice of replicating business data at two or more geographically distinct sites in order to protect against catastrophic data loss. Geographic redundancy can be provided through duplicate storage systems in different locations, or through contracting with vendors for remote or "cloud" storage.

Illinois State Archives – Department of the Archives and Records, Office of the Secretary of State, established pursuant to the State Records Act [5 ILCS 160].

Legal Value – Records that contain evidence of legally enforceable rights or obligations of the State, such as legal decisions and opinions; fiscal documents representing agreements, such as leases, titles and contracts; and records of actions in particular cases, such as claim papers and legal dockets.

List – An Application for the Authority to Dispose of Local Records that have accumulated.

Local Records Disposal Certificate – The document on which all local government agencies list all records of which they wish to dispose.  Agencies must file the certificate with the Commission 30 days prior to the destruction of any records present on their approved Application for Authority to Dispose of Local Records. Agencies may not dispose of records until the Certificate has been approved and returned to them.

Metadata – Commonly referred to as "data about data", metadata is structured data that describes, explains, locates or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use or manage an information resource.  Metadata is typically organized into distinct categories, such as administrative, descriptive, preservation or structural.

Non-Record Material – Types of non-record material include, but are not limited to:

Material not filed as evidence of administrative activity or for its informational content.

Extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference.

Stocks of printed or reproduced documents kept for supply purposes, when file copies have been retained for record purposes.

Books, periodicals, newspapers, posters, finding aids and other library and museum materials made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes.

Private materials neither made nor received by a local agency pursuant to State or local law or in connection with the transaction of public business.

Perforated, magnetized and photographically coded cards and tapes, provided that documents containing the same information have been filed in the same office and the cards and tapes were not prepared as evidence of administrative decisions or transactions subject to audit.

Transitory messages, consisting of material that is created primarily to communicate information of short-term value.  These can include messages sent via email, instant messaging (IM), text messaging (SMS) or paper correspondence.  Examples of transitory messages include, but are not limited to, reminders to employees about scheduled meetings or appointments; most telephone messages (whether in paper, voicemail or other electronic form); announcements of office events such as holiday parties or group lunches; and recipient copies of announcements of agency-sponsored events such as exhibits, lectures, workshops, etc.  Transitory messages are not intended to formalize or perpetuate knowledge and do not set policy, establish guidelines or procedures, certify a transaction or become a receipt.

Permanent – To be retained forever.

Permanent Record Film – A photographic camera original, or an exact copy of an original film, so composed and treated that the image and support will have maximum keeping quality under archival room storage conditions of 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit and 30-40% humidity.

Public record − Any book, paper, map, photograph or other official documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made, produced, executed or received by any agency or officer pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by such agency or officer, or any successor thereof, as evidence of the organization, function, policies, decisions, procedures, or other activities thereof, or because of the informational data contained therein. [50 ILCS 205/3]

Raw Stock – Sensitized photographic material that has not undergone the process of development.

Records Retention Schedule or Schedule – Same as Application for the Authority to Dispose of Local Records.

Record Series – A group of identical or related documents (either as to form or content) that is arranged under a single filing system or kept together as a unit because they consist of the same form, relate to the same subject, result from the same activity, or have certain common physical characteristics (i.e., maps, blueprints, etc.).  A series may contain both forms and correspondence.

Research, Historical or Archival Value – Records that document a specific local program, a unique program, a departure from previous local policy, formation of public policy, the activities of an important government official, or a trend or movement by the citizenry.

State Archivist – The Illinois Secretary of State.

System Decommissioning – The removal of a system from service, such as when a system used to manage business records is shut down when it is no longer being utilized or is being replaced by a new system.

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 3094, effective February 11, 2015)