The following information and records management definitions have been developed and endorsed for
use in the Government of Alberta. This glossary will expand as policies, standards and practices are
developed in the Government of Alberta.
Administrative Records Disposition Authority (ARDA)
ARDA is a records retention and disposition schedule for administrative records
that are common to most government organizations. Subject to the approval of the Alberta Records Management
Committee, government organizations can use ARDA as a records retention and disposition schedule
for their common administrative records. Government organizations can also use ARDA as the foundation
for their administrative records classification structures.
Alberta Records Management Committee (ARMC)
The Alberta Records Management Committee is a senior interdepartmental committee,
appointed by the Minister of Service Alberta, which approves records retention and disposition
schedules submitted by government organizations, provides advice to the Minister on the management of records in
the custody or under the control of government organizations, and may also evaluate the implementation
of the records management program.
Information Management Framework (IMF)
The Information Management Framework, approved by the Deputy Ministers' Committee in 2003,
is a corporate framework, which fosters a disciplined approach to managing information assets that is
consistent across the government. Its focus on information content and the use of information will enable
the government to capitalize on the value of its information assets.
ISO 15489
ISO 15489 (2001) is an international records management standard issued by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO). It provides standardized records management policies and procedures
that ensures appropriate attention and protection is given to all records, and the evidence and information
that they contain can be retrieved more efficiently and effectively, using standard practices and procedures.
The Alberta Records Management Committee (ARMC) has endorsed this standard as a code of best practice for
Alberta government organizations.
Metadata
ISO 15489 defines metadata as data describing context, content and structure of records and
their management through time.
Official Records
Official records are records in the custody or under the control of government organizations
that must be retained and filed in official records systems, and managed in accordance with government
policies, standards and practices because they:
are required to support business operations; or
document and provide evidence of business transactions; or
are required by legislation; or
protect the rights of citizens and the government; or
provide evidence of compliance with accountability or other business requirements; and
will have some future business, financial, legal, research or archival value to the government
and people of Alberta.
Personal Information
Personal information means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including:
the individual's name, home or business address or home or business telephone number,
the individual's race, national or ethnic origin, colour or religious or political beliefs or associations,
the individual's age, sex, marital status or family status,
an identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,
the individual's fingerprints, other biometric information, blood type, genetic information or inheritable characteristics,
information about the individual's health and health care history, including information about a physical or mental disability,
information about the individual's educational, financial, employment or criminal history, including criminal records where a pardon has been given,
anyone else's opinions about the individual, and
the individual's personal views or opinions, except if they are about someone else.
Personal Information Bank
Personal information bank means a collection of personal information that is organized
or retrievable by the name of an individual or by an identifying number, symbol or other particular
assigned to an individual.
Record
"Record" means a record of information in any form and includes notes, images,
audiovisual recordings, x-rays, books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers and
papers and any other information that is written, photographed, recorded or stored in any manner, but
does not include software or any mechanism that produces records.
Records are information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization
or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.
Records Disposition
Records disposition is the process of applying records retention and disposition schedules
to records. Records disposition includes the:
transfer of records from government organizations to the Alberta Records Centre (ARC) for interim
off-site storage;
transfer of records from government organizations for immediate destruction;
transfer of records from government organizations to the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) for
permanent preservation;
transfer of records from the Alberta Records Centre for destruction upon the expiry of their
retention periods;
transfer of records from the Alberta Records Centre to the Provincial Archives of Alberta upon
the expiry of their retention periods; and
alienation of records from the custody and control of government organizations.
Records Management Program
The records management program is a corporate program administered by
Service Alberta,
which governs the management of records including the creation, handling, control, organization, retention,
maintenance, security, preservation, disposition, alienation and destruction of records in the custody or
under the control of government organizations and for their transfer to the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule
A records retention and disposition schedule (also referred to as a records schedule or a
schedule) is a legal authority that describes the records under the control of a government organization,
specifies how long and where they must be kept as they progress through the phases of their life cycle,
the format in which the records must be stored and what their final disposition will be (destruction or
archival preservation) at the end of their life cycle.
Senior Records Officer
Senior Records Officers are individuals designated by Deputy heads to undertake the records
management function within a government organization in accordance with Alberta legislation, policies,
standards, and practices.
Transitory Records
Transitory records are records in any media that will have no further value or usefulness
beyond an immediate and minor transaction; or will be only be required for a short time after a transaction,
until they are made obsolete by an updated version of a record or by a subsequent transaction, or decision.
Transitory records will not be required again to meet a government organization's statutory obligations nor
to support its administrative or operational functions. Transitory records are not filed in official records
systems.
Vital Record
Vital records are records that are essential for preserving, continuing or reconstructing
the operations of the organization and protecting the rights of the organization, its employees, its
customers and its stockholders.
Date Created: April 2004
Date Updated: November 2008
