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Vital Records
For whom is this guidance intended?
This guidance is intended for the University’s freedom of information practitioners who are
setting up records management systems in their sections. It will also be of interest to heads
and administrators of sections.
What is the purpose of this guidance?
This guidance is intended to give freedom of information practitioners advice on managing
vital records, that is, those records which are essential to the running of an organisation. It
explains the role of vital records, how to recognise them, how to protect them, and the vital
records procedures that should be implemented. It cannot identify the vital records of your
particular section, but it does give you a ‘toolkit’ to help you identify them.
What are vital records?
Vital records are those records that are necessary for an organisation to continue to operate in
the event of disruption or disaster. Examples of disruption include being unable to enter the
building for a few hours or days (in the event of, for example, a bomb scare) or being unable
to access the University network for a few hours or days; disasters include fire, flood, and the
loss of electronic data through malicious electronic intervention. Vital records enable the
organisation to continue functioning in the event of a disaster or disruption, and contain the
information needed to re-establish the organisation in the event of a disaster that destroys all
other records. In the case of the University, vital records may apply to the University as a
whole or to a specific part of it.
Examples of vital records will vary across the University, and more guidance on how to
identify vital records is given below. However, a few examples are: current contracts (the
loss of which would make dealing with personnel issues extremely problematic); research
information for an ongoing project (the loss of which might necessitate restarting the project
from scratch, and would consequently obstruct one of the University’s core business
functions, namely the pursuit of research); and records of conferment of awards (which are
needed as evidence of one of the University’s core functions, the awarding of degrees and
other awards; the loss of these records would result in the University being unable to confirm
that it had fulfilled its obligations either to the student body or to the students of the
University, not least by being unable to confirm whether or not an individual had an award
from the University).
Vital records may be held in any format, including paper, audio tape, microfiche, and
electronic formats.
Why should I care about my section’s vital records?
Identifying your section’s vital records and taking measures to protect them and to ensure that
they are always available when needed will help improve your business practice, saving you
considerable inconvenience in the event of disruption or disaster. A clear policy on vital
records is part of good Records Management practice, and should also tie in with your
section’s business continuity planning. Your business continuity planning should consider
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what the consequences for your area of responsibility would be if you were unable to access
your records for a few hours or days, and the vital records backup measures that you install
should reflect how urgently you would need access to your records.
The impact of the loss of vital records should not be underestimated. In the event of major
disasters such as the destruction of a business property through fire, the loss of the building or
equipment generally matters less than the loss of vital records; after all, buildings and
equipment can be rebuilt or purchased again. Over 70% of businesses whose paperwork and
computer programs are lost in fires go out of business within 3 years.
Although it is tempting to assume that major disasters will never affect your own school or
section, the fire which destroyed the School of Informatics building on South Bridge in
December 2002 shows that disasters can and do happen. Fortunately, no-one was hurt in the
fire, but the Artificial Intelligence Library was destroyed, with the loss of some irreplaceable
materials, and many researchers lost their personal archives. However, most of the School’s
then current research data was stored electronically, and was not lost – which demonstrates
the importance of keeping backup copies of important data, discussed further below. Equally
important to the School was the ability to have day-to-day information (particularly
information on students, room bookings, classes and grants) up and running as soon as
possible.
Instituting a vital records programme as part of your section’s records management systems
will also help ensure your compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
The s 61 Code of Practice issued by the Scottish Executive under the Act specifically requires
organisations subject to freedom of information legislation to protect their vital records.
Although compliance with this Code is not mandatory, it is seen as indicative of whether or
not an organisation has complied with the legislation.
Who is responsible for my section’s vital records?
Freedom of information practitioners are responsible for identifying vital records and
maintaining vital records procedures, although you may of course delegate the bulk of the
work to another member of staff. However, ultimately it is your Head of School or Section
who is responsible for your section’s vital records, so your vital records plan should be at a
minimum discussed with and approved by your Head of School or Section.
All staff also have day-to-day responsibility for working sensibly with vital records (for
example, not accidentally deleting them!) and so it is advisable that all staff have some
knowledge of your section’s vital records and vital records procedures.
How do I tell which records are vital?
Working out which of your records are vital should be part of a broader analysis of your
section’s record keeping requirements. There is no definitive list of vital records, and what
constitutes a vital record will vary from section to section across the University. This
guidance cannot tell you exactly which of your records are vital, but it does give you a toolkit
to help you identify your section’s vital records.
When identifying your section’s vital records, begin by considering the following points:
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1. Identify the key functions and business processes of your section
What are the core functions and business processes of your section? They may include
teaching and research, student registration, dealing with personnel issues, or handling
accounts, depending on the section of the University to which you belong.
2. Identify the records that are needed to support or document these functions and
processes
What records do you need to enable you to perform these core functions, or to provide
evidence that you have done so? Records relating to the key functions and business
processes might include teaching timetables, student records, committee minutes, RAE
submissions, and staff contracts.
3. Identify which of these records are vital
Can the functions these records relate to be re-established in the event of the loss of these
records? If so, the records are not vital – although in some cases you may still consider
their importance to be sufficient that they are worth protecting. If not, the records are
vital. When considering which of your records are vital, bear in mind the following three
points:
Not all records are vital. Around 2-10 % of an organisation’s records are likely to be
vital, although this will vary from case to case. Setting up special protection measures
can be expensive, so do not be tempted to include everything, although, at the same
time, do not omit a record that is genuinely vital.
Vital Records are vital for varying lengths of time. A record is not necessarily vital
forever; for example, records of the marks a current student has obtained are vital, as
this information is needed to know whether or not the student can graduate (and the
conferring of degrees is a core business function of the University), while records of a
student’s marks from one hundred years ago are less important.
Records may not fall neatly into vital and non-vital categories. It may be more
helpful to divide them into 4 different categories, as in the table below. You will need
to exercise your judgement in deciding how vital (or non-vital) a record is. Some
records might not be strictly vital – in that the University could continue to function
without them - but the effort of replacing them, or their historical value, might be such
that you wish to afford them the same level of protection as records essential to the
current business of the University. (On historical records, see also Annex A.) You
will need to perform a risk assessment of how vital the record is, considering how
serious the impact would be if the record were lost, and soon you would feel it.
When identifying which of your records are vital, it may be helpful to divide them into the
following categories. Please note that the examples are not exhaustive, and will vary from
section to section.
1. Vital Records
Records without which an Examples:
organisation cannot function. These records which give evidence of the
records are essential to the core legal status of the University;
business of the organisation. records which protect the assets and
interests of the University;
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minutes of board meetings, especially
where major policy decisions are
taken;
current and recent staff contracts;
current accounts payable and
received;
the University’s business plan;
graduation records;
research information, including
ongoing research and reports of
research projects;
records which are subject to a legal
requirement to be kept for a certain
amount of time;
historical records if needed for
evidential or other legal purposes
(see also Annex A).
2 – Important Records
These records are important to the Examples:
continued operation of the Procedures;
organisation. They can be Training manuals;
reproduced or recreated from original Teaching materials;
sources, but only at considerable time Curricula;
and expense. Teaching timetables;
Minutes of some meetings;
Current RAE submission
3 - Useful Records
Loss of these records would cause Examples
temporary inconvenience to the most correspondence;
University, but they are replaceable. records of old curricula.
4 - Non-Essential Records
These records have no value beyond Examples:
the immediate purpose for which they staff and student circulars about one-
were created off events which are now completed;
advertisements.
I have identified my vital records: what now?
Once you have identified your vital records, you should take practical steps to preserve them.
A range of events could occur, disrupting your work and endangering your vital records.
These include, but are not limited to:
Network server crash resulting in inability to access electronic files for a few hours to
a few days
Inability to access building for a few hours or days
Loss through carelessness
Theft of materials
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Pest infestation and environmental conditions, such as excessive humidity, which
cause damage by e.g. mice eating documents, or mould destroying documents.
Loss of electronic data through malicious behaviour
Fire
Flood
There are various ways of protecting your vital records, ranging from extremely expensive
options that offer a high degree of protection (for example, fire-proofing a room), to simpler
options offering a lesser degree of protection (for example, storing vital records in stout
cardboard boxes). Your choice of protection will depend on varying factors, including the
format of the records, their importance, your environment, your resources and whether a copy
already exists elsewhere. Expensive, high-security options may only be appropriate in
extreme cases.
How do I protect my vital records if they are electronic?
In general, it is easiest to protect records if they are electronic. It is simple to make backup
copies (for example, you can copy your records onto the University server, or onto a cd-rom
or ‘memory stick’), and has little cost implication in terms of either money or time.
It is good practice to include the word ‘vital’ in the document or folder title, as this will make
them easier to search and secure, and thus help speed up the retrieval process.
If you are on the University network, by far the easiest way of preserving a vital record is to
put it onto the University computer network. Ideally, it should already be stored on the
network; storing records on your personal computer or laptop's local hard drive is not
recommended, as the record may be lost if the computer crashes or is stolen. The benefits of
storing the record on the server are that backup copies are regularly made and stored off-site,
and you do not need to worry about particular risks (such as fire and flood) as the protection
of the server and backup copies are dealt with by EUCS, MIS, your school or unit. Another
benefit is that should the record be accidentally deleted, it may be restored from the backup
copies of the server.
Backup regimes and procedures, including the length of time needed to restore lost data, vary
depending on whether you are supported by EUCS, MIS, your school or unit, and what server
you use. It is therefore recommended that you contact your local computing support person
to find out what the procedures for your area are, and include these in your vital records
procedures. MIS have a prioritised plan for the restoration of information in MIS supported
systems (eg RELP, eFinancials, e-mail and information stored on shared drives) in the event
of a disaster, so if your information is stored in one of these systems disaster recovery
arrangements are already in place. For EUCS’ back up services, see
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-
services/services/computing/computing-infrastructure/storage/backups/backup.
If you are not on the University network, you should make backup copies of your vital
electronic data (on, for example, a cd-rom). These should not be stored with your computer
(in case you cannot access your normal place of work, or all the copies are stolen or lost in a
fire), but in a separate location, preferably a separate building (as this minimises the risk of
all of the copies being lost or unavailable). It is not advised to store your only backup copy
on a floppy disk, as these are not particularly robust.
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If you are making backup copies that are not stored on the network, please make a note of
these so that, when you come to delete your records, you remember to delete the backup
copies as well. For advice on disposing of records (both hard-copy and electronic), please
see the forthcoming records management guidance on disposal, which will be available to
download from the Records Management Section’s website.
No storage method is entirely secure although the risks of storing vital records on the server
are far fewer than storing the data only on a personal computer or laptop's local hard drive.
While the University’s computer systems are generally secure, there remains a very small
threat of corruption of data from, for example, viral attack, or data may be accessed
externally; accidental loss is also possible (especially if this is not noticed for a long time, and
the original data is no longer held on the server or the backup copies of the server). While
there is a risk that the server itself could be destroyed (in for example a fire), copies of the
data from the server from the previous week are normally kept off-site.
It should also be noted that vital electronic records held in the longer term may be subject to
their originating application no longer being available and therefore the record unreadable.
Conversion to a recognised format such as plain text or rich text format may help avoid this
situation. Where the format of the document is also critical then currently the University
recommends that documents are stored in Portable Document Format (PDF).
How do I protect my vital records if they are in hard copy?
For vital records that are not electronic – for example, paper or microfiche – there are a
variety of backup options. Deciding which to adopt is about balancing what is practical,
given your location, environment and resources, with what is desirable, given the nature of
the records. You should aim to provide reasonable protection for most records, and extreme
protection in a small minority of cases. Weigh up the costs of different levels of protection
against the potential cost of the loss of the records. It is also helpful to consider the volume
of records that need to be protected now, and how that may change in the future; what the
retrieval rate is likely to be; and whether any special environmental conditions are needed for
storage (e.g. for antiquarian books, or microfilm).
Scan and save electronically. This is a simple and fairly effective measure, especially if the
records are stored on the University computer network. The benefits of this method of
backup are discussed above. If you have a considerable quantity of vital records, the costs
involved in converting them to an electronic form may be substantial, but the benefits of
storing them electronically may outweigh this drawback. However, please be aware that the
legal admissibility of electronic records (that is, whether they would be accepted as a piece of
evidence by a court of law) is not straightforward. The records management guidance
document on Electronic Records and Legal Admissibility, available to download from the
Records Management Section’s website
(http://www.recordsmanagement.ed.ac.uk/index.htm), can give guidance on this.
Check the environment for potential hazards. If however you decide to keep your vital
records in hard copy, you should look for different types of environmental threat to the area
where they are stored. These could include water (water damage is the most common form
of environmental hazard to records), damp, fire, and pests. Sources of water damage include
flooding – from either outside the building (e.g. a nearby river) or inside the building (e.g., a
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burst water pipe or leaking roof), or from fire hoses or sprinkler systems in the event of a fire
(in fires, much of the damage is caused by water used to extinguish the fire). Sources of fire
include wiring, overloading of sockets and failing apparatus. If there are pests, or excessive
humidity, mechanisms such as traps, poisons or a de-humidifier may be needed. Pest
infestation is likely to be repeated so traps and poisons need to be checked and renewed as
necessary. Either steps should be taken to protect the records from these potential hazards, or
alternative accommodation should be sought.
Consider whether there are any particular security risks. Are your records particularly
sensitive – might they attract theft or bomb threats? (For example, records of animal
experimentation may be considered to be sensitive.) Do you need more than your section’s
standard security measures? If the records are sensitive to theft, it may be appropriate to give
each box a number, and include a breakdown of what is in each numbered box in the vital
records programme.
Do not store records on the floor or on an unprotected top shelf. Raise the bottom storage
shelves at least 5 cm above floor level, and never put records on the floor, in case of flooding.
Fit top storage shelves with metal covers to protect from water coming from above.
Do not store records in the top floor of a building with a leaky roof, or in a damp basement.
Obey extant safety precautions, as you would routinely in any case.
Duplication and dispersal across at least two locations within the University: this affords a
fairly low level of protection, but is relatively cheap. It may be considered adequate
especially if there is more than one building across which copies can be spread. Copies can
be made in a variety of media, including paper, microfilm, and cd-rom (for electronic records
not stored on the University network).
Remote storage: Copies may be stored with a commercial storage company specialising in
secure storage; in a bank vault (if the quantity of records is not large); or in an offsite facility
that has the necessary security features such as fireproofing.
Keep records in boxes. Stout cardboard boxes will offer some short-term protection from fire
and water. Paper tightly packed in cardboard boxes is less likely to burn, and cardboard
boxes offer a reasonable protection from water. In addition, boxes are far easier to move
speedily in case of emergency than filing cabinets. Do not keep vital records in loose files
stacked on shelves, as these will be unprotected from fire and water, and harder to move in
the event of an emergency.
Prioritise which records should be saved in an emergency and record this in your vital
records procedures and/or your section’s Disaster and Contingency Recovery Plan. Store
these records somewhere where they can be removed from the building quickly in the event
of emergency, and ensure key staff know where these are.
Fireproof rooms: these are expensive, but very effective if set up properly with fire resistance
for a minimum of four hours, a fire detection system, temperature and humidity control, dust-
free conditions, and a secure locking device or some controlled access systems.
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What method should I adopt?
When deciding what reasonable methods you need to adopt to backup and protect your vital
records, it is necessary to balance the financial cost, time and practical implications of the
methods against the seriousness of the damage that would result if your vital records were
unavailable for a period of time, or destroyed. Thus there is a risk assessment involved in
deciding what measures are required. These considerations can be represented in the
following matrix:
High Medium Low Very low
How serious would the consequences be
if the records were destroyed or stolen?
How serious would the consequences be
if the records were unavailable for a few
hours?
How serious would the consequences be
if the records were unavailable for a few
days?
What is the cost of the backup and
protection measures?
What is the volume of records that need
to be protected now?
What is the volume of records likely to
need protection liable to be in 10 years’
time?
How likely is it that another copy already
exists elsewhere?
The matrix will not provide you with a simple answer but is intended to help you to consider
the issues involved. For example, if the consequences of losing access to particular records
for a few hours are very low, but the consequences of losing access to the same records
permanently would be very high, then you might decide on some form of off-site storage. If
the consequences of theft or destruction would be extremely high, then you may need to
adopt stringent security and protective measures.
The University Records Management Section can assist with the assessment of the risks
associated with vital records protection and backup measures, while your local computer
support person can advise on the options for electronic information.
How do I ensure that other staff in my section know about our vital records?
There is no point in categorising your records and making particular arrangements for your
vital records, if the information is lost when you leave the University, or if you are not there
on the day that disruption or disaster strikes. It is therefore heavily recommended that some
simple procedures are developed, and a vital records schedule be created and maintained.
These can be circulated around key staff. They will help ensure institutional continuity and
memory, and also help identify those records which were previously vital but are so no
longer.
The vital records schedule (set out in a template in Annex B) should include:
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Name of record;
Category of record;
Where it is stored, and information on where copies (if any), are held
Reasons for protecting;
Method of protection;
Supporting records / applications (to aid in finding the record), if needed to access or
interpret the record;
Box number (if held in numbered boxes);
A deadline for the next review (to consider whether the record is still vital).
In the vital records procedures, you should include the following (set out in a template in
Annex C):
The person or persons responsible for maintaining the vital records programme;
Procedures to ensure that new vital records are identified and included in the
programme;
Procedures for transferring the records or copies to a secure storage area, if used;
Details of who has access to the secure storage area, if used.
How do I maintain my vital records?
In order to maintain your vital records you need to ensure that new vital records are
identified, backed up and protected as necessary, and equally that records that are no longer
vital are removed from the vital records programme. If they are in hard copy, the new vital
records should be stored appropriately, and records that are no longer vital may be removed
to less secure storage, to make space for new vital records (or destroyed, in line with your
section’s retention plan).
The vital records plan should include procedures for the early identification of new vital
records, and the vital records programme should include a deadline for the next review, to
consider whether a record is still vital.
What help is available?
The University Records Management Section provides advice, guidance and training on data
protection, records management and freedom of information issues. We can be contacted at
recordsmanagement@ed.ac.uk. Although we cannot identify your vital records or set up
protection measures for you, we can provide training, facilitate workshops, give you detailed
advice on work in progress, and serve as expert advisers on records management project
boards.
EUCS and MIS can provide help and advice on the facilities within EUCS/MIS supported
systems and software that could be used to help with implementing the guidance contained
within this document. The Audit and Security Section of EUCS is able to provide advice on
data security and related issues.
The University Archive within the Library is able to provide advice on the Archive’s
collection policy and transferring records to the Archive.
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Antonia Kearton & Susan Graham
February 2005
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Annex A: Note on Historical Records
Historical records that help understand a part of the University’s development (such as a
Principal’s speech at the inauguration of a new site) but which are not essential for the day-
to-day running of the University would not be considered as vital. However, their value for
a wide range of historical research might be such that they are worth preserving. One means
of doing this would be to transfer them to the University Archive, at which point the records
would be covered by the University Archive’s disaster plans.
Please see the University Archive’s guidance on identifying records with potential archive
value (http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/specdivision/eua.shtml).
The following documents are of particular relevance:
Special Collections Policy of the University’s Archives
(www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/specdivision/euacp.shtml)
Archival Selection Criteria
(http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/specdivision/criteria.pdf)
Guidance on Transferring Records to the University Archive
(http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/specdivision/transfer.pdf)
Some of the examples cited in this document as vital records, such as minutes of important
board meetings, are also liable to hold archival category. It is therefore especially important
that they are covered by sections’ vital records programmes while they are still also of current
administrative value.
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Annex B: Template for Vital Records Schedule
VITAL RECORDS SCHEDULE UNIT:
Record Location Protection Identifying information Review
Record Category Storage Location of Reasons for Method of Supporting Box no Date of next
Name of record location copies protecting protection records review
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Annex C: Template for Vital Records Procedures
VITAL RECORDS PROCEDURES
Section: Date last revised:
Person/s responsible for maintaining the vital records programme:
Procedures to ensure that new vital records are identified and included in the
programme:
Procedures for transferring the records or copies to a secure storage area (if used):
Details of who has access to the secure storage area (if used):
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