MMC Public Records & Archival Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which retention schedule authority primarily governs municipal records in the United States?
- National Archives and Records Administration
- State archives or records management agency (Correct answer)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- U.S. Department of Justice
Correct answer: State archives or records management agency
Municipal records retention schedules are primarily governed by state archives or state records management agencies, not federal bodies.
Question 2: A city clerk receives a FOIA request for emails between the mayor and a contractor. The emails are stored on a personal device. What is the correct action?
- Deny the request since the emails are on a private device
- Search only official government servers and respond accordingly
- Retrieve the emails from the personal device if they concern official business (Correct answer)
- Forward the request to the contractor for response
Correct answer: Retrieve the emails from the personal device if they concern official business
Public records laws generally apply to records of public business regardless of the device or medium on which they are stored.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a records disposition authority (RDA)?
- To authorize the transfer of records to another agency
- To provide legal authorization for destroying or transferring records (Correct answer)
- To index records for public retrieval
- To classify records as confidential
Correct answer: To provide legal authorization for destroying or transferring records
A records disposition authority provides the legal basis for disposing of records, either by destruction or transfer to archival custody.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'chain of custody' in the context of public records?
- The sequence of officials who signed a document
- The documented history of who controlled a record from creation to present (Correct answer)
- The legal chain of command for records requests
- The order in which records are filed
Correct answer: The documented history of who controlled a record from creation to present
Chain of custody documents the chronological sequence of custody, control, and transfer of records, which is critical for legal admissibility.
Question 5: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a municipality must make public records accessible to individuals with disabilities. Which format is most commonly required for digital records?
- PDF/A format only
- Section 508-compliant accessible electronic formats (Correct answer)
- Large-print paper copies
- Audio recordings of all text documents
Correct answer: Section 508-compliant accessible electronic formats
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies and many local governments to make electronic records accessible to people with disabilities.
Question 6: A city clerk discovers that a vital records series was not listed on the official retention schedule. What is the most appropriate immediate step?
- Destroy the records to free storage space
- Continue storing the records and notify the state records office to add the series (Correct answer)
- Transfer the records to a private storage company
- Create a new retention schedule independently and apply it
Correct answer: Continue storing the records and notify the state records office to add the series
Unscheduled records must be retained until a proper retention schedule is approved; the clerk should flag the gap to the state records authority.
Question 7: What does 'litigation hold' (also called legal hold) require a municipality to do?
- Seal all records from public access during active litigation
- Suspend normal records disposition for documents relevant to anticipated or active litigation (Correct answer)
- Transfer all relevant records to the city attorney immediately
- Destroy records that could be used against the city
Correct answer: Suspend normal records disposition for documents relevant to anticipated or active litigation
A litigation hold requires suspending the normal destruction of records that may be relevant to anticipated or pending legal proceedings.
MMC Public Records & Archival Management 2
Which retention schedule authority primarily governs municipal records in the United States?