This FAQ is not comprehensive, however, we hope to provide a useful starting point for the archiving of electronic records. For more specific questions and consultations, please contact the Archives using the Research Request Form.
Dioceses and Parishes should begin by creating and adopting a standard records retention policy. View the Records Management Manual for Congregations and the DFMS Retention and Management Policy for guidance.
E-Records Frequently Asked Questions
• Why should I keep electronic records?
• What is the first step in creating a records management or archive program?
• What types of records should be saved and for how long? What files should we be archiving?
• Do you have any recommendations an electronic archive or digital repository application?
• Do you recommend a specific technology for archiving electronic publications?
• Do you have suggestions about routine back-ups of our data servers?
• What does an archival backup look like?
• Should we be using cloud computing or cloud-based storage?
• Do you have guidelines for establishing and maintaining file structures and directories?
• Do you have guidelines for file naming conventions?
• We have a new employee replacing an existing employee who will be using the same computer. What should be saved, and how?
• If an employee of the diocese is deposed and any and all electronic correspondence related to a legal matter is requested, how is this request best fulfilled?
Why should I keep electronic records?
Records are not retained on the basis of the format in which they are created. Instead they are retained for legal, fiscal, or administrative reasons regardless of format. Preferably, one should keep the document in the original format in which it was created.
If the document is designated in the retention policy to be retained when it was created as a paper document, then the same practice applies when the document is created and maintained in an electronic form. In creating a new retention policy, one would not evaluate the document’s format, but rather the value of the document’s content.
What is the first step in creating a records management or archives program?
A records retention policy and schedule is the starting point for any good records management or archives program. Consult the Records Management Manual for Congregations, the Manual of Business Affairs, and the DFMS Church-wide Records Retention Schedule as a starting point for customizing a retention schedule for your diocese or parish.
If your church entity does not currently have a retention policy or a standard practice, keep the records until one can be adopted. Do not, under any condition, allow records to be destroyed upon suspicion or knowledge of wrong-doing or the possibility that some wrong will be discovered.
What types of records should be saved and for how long?
Typically, dioceses and parishes create many of the same kinds of records. Consult the Records Management Manual for Congregations, the Manual of Business Affairs, and the DFMS Church-wide Records Retention Schedule. Retention schedules inform you of how long to keep temporary records.
Some records are considered permanent archival records, whether in the form of paper or electronic files. Among these are:
• Journals of Diocesan Convention (if printed, retain 2 good copies)
• Minutes and proceedings of all bodies
• Meeting dockets (including sample meeting mailings)
• Bylaws and revisions (cumulative)
• Incorporation papers, articles of association, etc.
• Reports, statements, studies, and/or occasional papers of the Diocese or member parishes
• Pastoral letters, addresses, and other official communication of the Bishop
• Major project and event files (e.g., convocations, advocacy, mission initiatives, etc.)
• Construction and building files (major renovations and new construction)
• Executive correspondence (Parish Contact Files, Clergy Contact Files)
• Audits and annual financial statements
• Trust fund register, files and endowments
• Electronic meeting records, discussion forums, and substantive e-mail correspondence
• Publications (including studies, newsletters and brochures, websites, etc.)
• Newspapers or monthlies and similar circulars
• Databases of membership, volunteers’ service, personnel, ledgers, and vital data
• Organizational calendars
• Photographs (digital and film)
• Audio and visual recordings (presentations on CD, DVD, etc.)
Do you have any recommendations an electronic archive or digital repository application?
The numerous variables in any situation prevent us from providing a singular solution for how dioceses and parishes should create and maintain an electronic archives. Dependencies such as staff, budget, and resources play a role in assessing the way forward for your particular church organization. There are, however, some general best practices and considerations that we suggest.
Location. Keep your electronic records organized in a central location, rather than on individual computers. Having the files organized and preserved on a file server maintained in a network environment is the first level of record keeping that allows for ready retrieval and direct data access.
Legacy files should not be kept permanently mixed with the active files on the data file server. The diocese or parish must decide if it wants to segregate and organize archived records on a separate server or in a separate directory. Either way, organizations should take steps to ensure all electronic records are adequately backed up. This redundancy can be achieved by deploying a RAID array, an offsite backup, or through the use of other media such as tapes or DVDs.
Organization. Data should be organized by a combination of the institutional structure and business functions. Ideally, the archival repository mirrors the organizational structure of the active files so that legacy files can be easily moved once they cease to be active. Like paper files, it is best to think in terms of groups of records, and only rarely in terms of single documents. In this case directories and sub folders are the important organizing and archiving unit. Upkeep of organized directories will help to avoid servers becoming full and directories becoming unwieldy. If staff members have not saved documents in directories, it can become difficult to judge how important that person’s work was to the organization and whether the data should be retained.
Access. The archive directory or server should be under the supervision of the officially designated custodian of the record for the parish or diocese – or the archivist if one exists. The directory should be protected by restricting “write” and “delete” permissions, but allow read-only access and retrieval.
There are no inexpensive or easily implemented “out-of-the-box records management or archiving software systems. Most church bodies will be well advised to practice good record keeping from the outset and find an organized staff person to help develop retention policies, implement organizational structures, and enforce compliance by other stakeholders.
Do you recommend a specific technology for archiving electronic publications?
There should be a designated location on the server (see above) for legacy data, including publications. Staff should get into the practice of depositing a final copy of all publications and important revisions or versions into the electronic records repository. PDF or PDFA is the preferred preservation format for digital publications. If a publication is produced in both paper and electronic formats, we recommend keeping two paper copies in addition to the electronic files. It is highly advisable to archive project files, including templates, style sheets, and any other components, to ensure future staff can fulfill their necessary business functions.
Do you have suggestions about routine back-ups of our data servers?
Begin by identifying the person(s) in your diocese or parish who has the information about where all of the permanent electronic records are located (or stored). Someone must be responsible for knowing your data, which is especially important for litigation and e-discovery in legal requests. Ideally this person would be a paid staff member. Professional systems administrators play a critical role in accounting for your compliance in the backup of your data. If you do not have a technology systems administrator on staff, consider investing in semi-annual or annual audits by an information systems consultant.
When evaluating your current backup systems, consider the following: if the hard drive on your computer system crashed and you lost all of the data stored there, would a reasonably computer-literate person be able to recreate the data from the computer backups? Sometimes reconstituting data from computer backups fails significantly, especially if the software version was changed and not backed up, or if the storage media is questionable. If there isn’t the most basic documentation on location, procedures, and content of the backup files, you can waste time and money. Because of this, having at least one backup of permanent archival record copies on optical disks (e.g., CD/DVD/BLU-Ray) is a good idea. These off line backups should be conducted on a regularly scheduled basis and stored in a remote, secure location.
What does an archival backup look like?
When possible, servers should be setup with a RAID array, which is a file server that automatically creates redundant or duplicate data. The redundancy prevents a “crash” situation from occurring in which one drive becomes damaged and results in a total loss of data. In addition, you should have at least one remote backup of the permanent records. This might be generated on a quarterly, or semi-annual basis, and placed on a physical medium such as a high quality DVD, tape, or stored in the cloud. For frequently accessed records – like parish registers – it is advisable to create two versions: an access copy for general use, and a preservation copy stored in a controlled environment (e.g., protected from light, humidity, temperature fluctuations, and dust).
Should we be using cloud computing or cloud-based storage?
Cloud storage is a service that allows users to store and access data online. Cloud storage offers accessibility, convenience, and scalability which avoids the costs of purchasing and maintaining on-premise hardware, but also comes with limited control over the data, increased security risks, and increased costs as data volume increases over time.
Consult the DFMS Policy for Software Selection to find guidelines for the selection of third-party software or services.
Do you have guidelines for establishing and maintaining file structures and directories?
Electronic and paper records should be organized with similar filing schemes. Just as paper records are grouped together in file folders, electronic records should be grouped together into folders or directories to maintain organization. A directory folder can be divided according to common practices:
• Chronology (i.e.: year or month such as “G:/Standing Committee/Minutes/2010)
• Function (Financial Records, Projects, Outreach Mission Program, Parish Organizations, etc.)
• Status (closed accounts, terminated employees, case files open and closed, etc.)
It is common for electronic records to have paper counterparts. Directories should follow naming conventions similar to the paper file to avoid confusion. If a paper file is named “Annual Reports,” for example, the electronic directory should also be named “Annual Reports”.
Do you have guidelines for file naming conventions?
Below are some useful and fairly standard approaches for naming files and organizing documents to make them easier to manage.
• Create simple hierarchies of directories and sub-directories, avoid catch-all directories with long lists of files inside. This will help reduce the length of file names.
• Keep file names short but self evident. Use obvious abbreviations and avoid repeating words already in the directory name.
• Draft documents should be given version numbers and revision dates; do not rely exclusively on the computer generated modification date.
• Identify, in the file name, the “record copy,” sometimes called the final copy to distinguish it from other versions.
• Separate sub-directories by year for future reference or archiving. Previous reports or publications are a good starting template for future productions.
• Use common abbreviations, but avoid periods or commas in file names – these are invalid characters in some systems.
• Initials can usually substitute for first names and follow the surname (e.g., SmithB_ltr.doc).
• Articles, conjunctions, and preposition such as: the, and, of, for are not necessary.
• Avoid spaces in any file name, especially if the file will be posted online. Instead of spaces, use hyphens or underscoring.
We have a new employee replacing an existing employee who will be using the same computer. What should be saved, and how?
It is standard organizational policy that records belong to the organization and not to the individual agent. Records should not be deleted or removed from diocesan or parish computers by exiting employees. Employees leaving the diocese should work with their supervisors to identify and reassign records before departing. Long-term retention will depend on the retention schedule.
Prior to departing their position, the employee and supervisor together should identify and label all diocesan/church records in their possession. Work reassigned to another employee will require new access permissions or moving a directory to another part of the organizational file structure. Workstation hard drives should be checked to ensure that the employee did not keep records locally instead of on the network server. Finally, policy and practice should provide that remote work with laptop computers is being stored and retained on network servers.
After a standard period of 4-to-6 months, most new employees will be able to identify records that they need in their active directories and which ones they can retire to the archives directory or repository. Follow a retention schedule to designate electronic records for destruction or long-term retention.
If an employee of the diocese is deposed and any and all electronic correspondence related to a legal matter is requested, how is this request best fulfilled?
Records management policies should state that all destruction be suspended once an investigation or litigation is reasonably anticipated. If litigation is anticipated, suspension of records disposition routines is accomplished through a litigation hold or by notifying all employees/representatives of the diocese or parish of their obligations to keep all potentially relevant data (not just email). This is a critical first step in any legal process.
In the event that the diocese, or an employee of the diocese, is requested or subpoenaed to provide, “any and all electronic correspondence related to a legal matter,” lawyers/law firms/courts typically prefer records to be delivered in their native formats. This action is the responsibility of key administrative and technical staff. As with paper records, accurate copies of the files requested should be made without removing the data from the server(s). The diocese or parish should be prepared to show how the files are organized and that they are a true representation of the source. A disorganized file structure will mean releasing much more data than is perhaps necessary – and will result in higher legal bills for the review process.
Even if records were previously destroyed in accordance with a well-researched retention schedule, be aware that without the use of data “scrubbing” software, deleted files may still be recoverable. Computer forensics, including searches of backup servers and tapes, can be part of a legal discovery request.