MMC Public Records & Archival Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which archival principle requires that records be maintained in the order in which they were originally organized by their creator?
- Provenance
- Original order (Correct answer)
- Appraisal
- Accession
Correct answer: Original order
The principle of original order (respect pour l'ordre primitif) requires archivists to maintain the arrangement established by the records' creator.
Question 2: A municipal government wants to implement an Electronic Records Management System (ERMS). What is the most critical first step?
- Purchase the most expensive available software
- Conduct a records inventory and needs assessment (Correct answer)
- Digitize all existing paper records immediately
- Hire a contractor without input from the clerk's office
Correct answer: Conduct a records inventory and needs assessment
Before implementing any ERMS, a thorough records inventory and needs assessment must be conducted to understand what records exist and what the system must handle.
Question 3: What is a 'finding aid' in archival management?
- A tool used to physically locate misfiled documents
- A descriptive document that helps researchers identify and locate archival records (Correct answer)
- A legal instrument authorizing records destruction
- Software used to search electronic databases
Correct answer: A descriptive document that helps researchers identify and locate archival records
A finding aid is a descriptive tool (such as an inventory or register) that provides information about archival collections to help researchers navigate them.
Question 4: Under HIPAA, which type of municipal record requires the most stringent access controls?
- Building permit applications
- Protected health information held by a municipal health department (Correct answer)
- Property tax records
- City council agendas
Correct answer: Protected health information held by a municipal health department
HIPAA imposes strict privacy and security requirements on protected health information (PHI) held by covered entities, including municipal health departments.
Question 5: Which migration strategy is most appropriate for ensuring long-term accessibility of digital records?
- Keeping records on proprietary software without updates
- Periodic migration to current, open, or widely supported formats (Correct answer)
- Printing all digital records to paper
- Relying on emulation of obsolete software environments
Correct answer: Periodic migration to current, open, or widely supported formats
Periodic format migration to current or open standards is the standard strategy for preserving long-term digital accessibility while managing format obsolescence.
Question 6: A city clerk receives a public records request for a document that is partially exempt from disclosure. The correct action under most open records laws is to:
- Deny the entire request
- Release the document with the exempt portions redacted (Correct answer)
- Release the full document without redaction
- Refer the requestor to the courts
Correct answer: Release the document with the exempt portions redacted
Most open records laws require agencies to release non-exempt portions of a partially exempt document with the exempt material redacted.
Question 7: What distinguishes a 'record copy' from a 'non-record copy' in municipal records management?
- Record copies are always stored digitally; non-record copies are paper
- The record copy is the official, complete copy subject to retention requirements; non-record copies are convenience duplicates (Correct answer)
- Non-record copies must be retained longer than record copies
- Record copies are only those signed by the mayor
Correct answer: The record copy is the official, complete copy subject to retention requirements; non-record copies are convenience duplicates
The record copy is the designated authoritative copy of a document subject to the retention schedule; additional duplicates kept for convenience are non-record copies.
MMC Public Records & Archival Management 4
Which archival principle requires that records be maintained in the order in which they were originally organized by their creator?