Glossary

Active Records Records that are regularly referenced by users and stored on-site.
Archives Consists of all records in the care, custody, and control of the Provincial Archivist under the Archives Act.
Archives Act Provincial legislation setting out the mandate and responsibilities of the Provincial Archivist, including requirements concerning the management of government records. Also establishes the Public Records Committee, the availability or unavailability of certain classes of government records, and the process which might be used to appeal disputes concerning records. For more information, see http://www.gnb.ca/0062/acts/acts/a-11-1.htm.
Calendar Year Perod of time from January 1st to December 31st.
Common Records Records that are common to all government departments and agencies, and support routine “housekeeping” functions such as human resources, finances, facilities, materials, and information management and technology.
CPRS (Classification Plan and Records Schedules) A combined file plan and records retention and disposition schedule established by the Provincial Archivist to apply to administrative records which are common to all government departments and agencies. See Publications page to view a copy of CPRS.
Destroy/Destruction The destruction (through means of shredding, recycling, deleting, etc.) of records that no longer have value. Records may be destroyed only under the authority of an approved Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. Abbreviated as “D”.
Electronic Information Management System (EIMS) A suite of products that includes information management tools (e.g. document management, records management, web publishing) and information access tools (e.g. search, navigation, portal).
File Classification Plan A logical, systematic arrangement of recorded information into subject groups or functional categories. See also, CPRS (Classification Plan and Retention Schedules for Common Records)
Final Disposition The action determined for the disposal of inactive records. For administrative records, final disposition occurs in one of two ways: 1) records no longer having any value are destroyed, or 2) records with ongoing value are transferred to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, where an archivist determines if some or all of them will be preserved.
Fiscal Year The government of New Brunswick’s financial or accounting year: April 1st to March 31st.
Inventory (of Records) A detailed examination or listing of a government department or agency’s information holdings; used to assist in developing an effective records management program.
Metadata Data describing the context, content and structure of records and their management through time.
Non-Records / Temporary Records Records which are only required for a limited period of time, or have temporary usefulness, and are not an integral part of an administrative or operational record series.
Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR) The public body designated to maintain, preserve and dispose of the official record. Usually the office with the main responsibility for that function or activity.
Operational Records Records that are generated by a department or agency in fulfilling its mandate. Operational records, unlike administrative records, are unique to each department. Decisions on how long to maintain operational records are made on a case-by-case basis, through the development of an individual Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. CPRS does not apply to operational records.
Permanent Retention Records that have continuing value (legal, historical, or fiscal) are therefore permanently preserved (retained) at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
Profiling Records The assignment of metadata to a document, a record or a collection of records at the time of its creation, collection and capture to describe its content, context and structure.
Records (Public) Recorded information, regardless of medium, created or received in the course of government business, and maintained as evidence of such activity.
Records Centre An offsite storage facility where semi-active records are stored in a controlled environment, at low cost. Records in the Records Centre still belong to the department where they originated, and can be retrieved by the department when necessary.
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule A legal document that provides a description of a records series (group of records) and explains the purpose of the records. It is used to specify the length of time the record must be kept in the office, and how long they must be stored off-site at the Provincial Archives Records Centre. It also states the final disposition of the record. Records Retention and Disposition Schedules are issued by the Provincial Archivist, but are agreed to jointly by the records-creating department or agency, and the Archivist.
Records Series A group of similar or related records that are used and filed together as a unit, and can be handled as a unit when determining and applying the records’ retention period and final disposition (e.g. employee files).
Redaction The process of removing or masking information within a record when the full record cannot be released or disclosed
Selective Retention One type of “final disposition” whereby records are assessed by an archivist, who determines whether some or all of the records will be permanently preserved or destroyed. Abbreviated as “SR”.
Semi-Active Records Records that are not frequently accessed by users and which do not need to be stored in the office. Semi-active records still have value for a department or agency, but should be stored in an inexpensive, off-site storage facility. (See also Records Centre)
Structured Records Consists of records that have an enforced composition. Structured records are managed by technology that allows for querying and reporting against predetermined data types and understood relationships such as a database.
Superseded or Obsolete The process of periodically replacing records, such as a travel policy, with newer, up-to-date information or versions. Abbreviated as “SO”.
Transfer The movement of records from a government department or agency to the Provincial Archives Records Centre or to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
Unstructured Records Any records stored in a format that is unstructured such as word processing, e-mails, and spreadsheets.
Vital Records Records essential for the resumption or continuation of business for a government department or agency in the event of an emergency or disaster.