record [English]
Language Notes
Many languages have no equivalent to 'record'. For example, French distinguishes between 'document' and 'archival document'.
Syndetic Relationships
InterPARES Definition
n. ~ 1. IP2 · A document made or received in the course of a practical activity as an instrument or a by-product of such activity, and set aside for action or reference. Syn.: archival document. – 2. PaaST (Record) · A type of intellectual entity that was made or received in the course of a practical activity as an instrument or a by-product of such activity, and set aside for action or reference.
General Notes
The use of the general term 'record' when referring to a particular type of record inevitably leads to confusion because attributes of the particular type are not conveyed by the general term. In particular, the legal definition of record may change, depending on relevant laws, rules, and regulations. [In the United States,] the general legal definition of public records is established in the Federal Records Act (44 USC 3301), but 'record' is defined for different purposes in the Privacy Act (5 USC 552(a)). See also business record, which is defined in the Rules of Federal Evidence (SAA Glossary 2005).
Some archivists and records managers make a clear distinction between records and documents, while others do not. For some, 'record' is narrow category, and might include the official (record) copy, a copy filed for public notice, or the final, complete version, while 'document' is a separate category that might include copies, drafts, and items not part of business activities. In a legal context, all documents are discoverable, but only those records that fall within the hearsay exception ('business records') may be admitted as evidence at trial.
Some archivists and records managers make a clear distinction between records and documents, while others do not. For some, 'record' is narrow category, and might include the official (record) copy, a copy filed for public notice, or the final, complete version, while 'document' is a separate category that might include copies, drafts, and items not part of business activities. In a legal context, all documents are discoverable, but only those records that fall within the hearsay exception ('business records') may be admitted as evidence at trial.
Other Definitions
- SAA Glossary 2005 (†241 ): 1. A written or printed work of a legal or official nature that may be used as evidence or proof; a document. – 2. Data or information that has been fixed on some medium; that has content, context, and structure; and that is used as an extension of human memory or to demonstrate accountability. – 3. Data or information in a fixed form that is created or received in the course of individual or institutional activity and set aside (preserved) as evidence of that activity for future reference. – 4. An instrument filed for public notice (constructive notice); see recordation. – 5. Audio · A phonograph record. – 6. Computing · A collection of related data elements treated as a unit, such as the fields in a row in a database table. – 7. Description · An entry describing a work in a catalog; a catalog record.
- USC (†246 ): ‘Records’ includes all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of data in them. Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications and of processed documents are not included.
Citations
- 5 USC 552a (†709 (a)(4)): "Record” means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph. (†1622)
- AJS 2012 (†421 66 Am Jur 2d Records and Recording Laws § 1): A "public record" is sometimes defined as a record required by law to be kept, or necessary to be kept, in the discharge of a duty imposed by law, or directed by law, to serve as a memorial and evidence of something written, said, or done or a writing filed in a public office. A record is public if, by law or regulation, it is filed in a public office and required to be kept there. Also, if a written record of the transactions of a public officer in his or her office is a convenient and appropriate mode of discharging the duties of the office, it is not only the officer's right but also his or her duty to keep that memorial whether expressly required to do so or not; when kept, it is a public document n5 that belongs to the office rather than to the officer. n6 Thus, a record is public if it is kept pursuant to the official duties of a particular officer even if it is not specifically mandated by a statute. However, the determination as to what records must be maintained by a public officer is the prerogative of the legislature. A record may be public for one purpose but not for another, and whether it is a public record depends upon the purposes of the law to be served by so classifying it. Observation: The purpose of a public records law is to expose government activity to public scrutiny, which is absolutely essential to the proper working of a democracy. Inherent in such law is the public's right to monitor the conduct of government. (†1035)
- CNSS-4009 (†730 p.59): records - The recordings (automated and/or manual) of evidence of activities performed or results achieved (e.g., forms, reports, test results), which serve as a basis for verifying that the organization and the information system are performing as intended. Also used to refer to units of related data fields (i.e., groups of data fields that can be accessed by a program and that contain the complete set of information on particular items). (†1741)
- International Records Management Trust 2009 (†572 s.v. record (1)): In a records and archives environment, documentary evidence, regardless of form or medium, created, received, maintained and used by an organisation (public or private) or an individual in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business. (†1034)
- ISACA Glossary (†743 s.v. record): A collection of related information that is treated as a unit. Separate fields within the record are used for processing of the information. (†1796)
- Lemieux 2001 (†245 ): Even within the archival profession, there are many differences among archivists' conceptualization of records. Perhaps the argument is best summed up with the observation that one person's 'management information' is another person's 'record.' . . . More generally, the research offers a warning to archivists to be wary of assuming that archival conceptualizations about records are absolutes when they are only one possible way of understanding recorded information. (†212)
- NIST 2013 (†734 p. B-18): Records - The recordings (automated and/or manual) of evidence of activities performed or results achieved (e.g., forms, reports, test results), which serve as a basis for verifying that the organization and the information system are performing as intended. Also used to refer to units of related data fields (i.e., groups of data fields that can be accessed by a program and that contain the complete set of information on particular items). (†1823)
- PaaST (0.11) 2016 (†778 ): A record is an Intellectual Object that was made or received in the course of an activity as an instrument or a by-product of such activity, and set aside for action or reference. Thus, a record has a determinate relationship to the activity of which it is a record, to the actor who kept it as a record and to other records of the same activity. This relationship, called the ‘archival bond,’ not only relates a record to a specific context of creation and use but also defines the Archival Aggregate in which it belongs. (†1988)
- PaaST (1.0) 2017 (†860 p. 60): Moreover, because the context determines the meaning of a Record, a Record can only belong to one RecordAggregate. (†2577)
- Wikipedia (†387 s.v. record): A document for administrative use. (†1014)
- Wikipedia (†387 s.v. records management): Something that represents proof of existence and that can be used to recreate or prove state of existence, regardless of medium or characteristics. A record is either created or received by an organization in pursuance of or compliance with legal obligations, or in the transaction of business.[ARMA International] Records can be either tangible objects, such as paper documents like birth certificates, driver's licenses, and physical medical x-rays, or digital information, such as electronic office documents, data in application databases, web site content, and electronic mail (email). (†1017)
- Yeo 2007 (†349 p. 337): There are many kinds of representation, and not all are records. The reflection of the moon in the still water of a pond is a representation, but it is not a record. The graphic designs on road signs are also representations, but again they are not records. Language itself is often said to be a form of representation. Other examples of representations are banknotes, charts, diagrams, models, statues, pictures, gestures, dramatic performances, and musical notations. In fact, representations are all around us. To differentiate records from other kinds of representation, records can be characterized as persistent representations of activities, created by participants or observers of those activities or by their authorized proxies. (†330)
- Yeo 2013 (†380 p. 2): Records are another kind of inanimate object that we trust. A record is a representation of a past activity that we can use to obtain evidence, or reinforce memory, of what happened in the past. In general, as far as trust is concerned, our attitude to records is not very different from our attitude to taxis, alarm clocks or e10 notes. We use them when we need them; we are aware that records can sometimes be fraudulent or unreliable, but in practice we do not always take the trouble to verify the records we use. (†771)