Technology & Digital Records Systems Flashcards

A municipality wants to migrate its legacy document management system to a cloud-based platform. Which concern should the clerk prioritize during the planning phase?

Answer: Ensuring the new system meets state public records law requirements for access and retention

Compliance with state public records laws governing access, retention, and security must be verified before committing to any cloud platform for official records.

What does 'data normalization' mean in the context of migrating records from one database system to another?

Answer: Standardizing data formats and structures so information is consistent and correctly mapped in the new system

Data normalization ensures that data types, field names, and formats are standardized and correctly aligned between the source and destination systems to prevent corruption or loss.

Under HIPAA, when a municipal clerk's office receives a request for records that may contain protected health information (PHI), what is the correct action?

Answer: Consult with the city attorney and redact PHI before releasing any applicable records

When records may contain PHI, the clerk must work with legal counsel to redact protected information before release, balancing public records obligations with HIPAA privacy protections.

Which technology provides the most reliable method for verifying that a digital record has not been altered since it was created?

Answer: Cryptographic hash values (checksums)

Cryptographic hash algorithms (e.g., SHA-256) generate a unique value for a file's content; any alteration produces a different hash, definitively proving tampering.

A city's electronic agenda management system automatically numbers agenda items. If the numbering resets unexpectedly before a meeting, what is the clerk's immediate priority?

Answer: Manually correct the agenda and document the system error in the meeting record

The clerk must ensure the official agenda is accurate and must document the technical error as part of the record to maintain transparency and integrity.

What is 'version control' and why is it important in a municipal records system?

Answer: A system that tracks changes to documents over time, preserving each iteration as a distinct record

Version control maintains a history of document revisions, which is critical for understanding how an official record evolved and for legal or audit purposes.

Which of the following is a key characteristic of an 'authentic' electronic record under international archives standards?

Answer: The record can be proven to be what it purports to be and was created or sent by the person who purports to have created or sent it

Authenticity, as defined by ISO 15489 and the InterPARES project, means the record is demonstrably what it claims to be, created by the purported author at the stated time.