Record retention is important for many reasons. It is a crucial element of accountability. It ensures that governments are able to explain to their citizens how their money is used, and how decisions are made. It also assists in satisfying the basic human need for a sense that history is a part of our lives and allows people to look back over time and see how the world has changed. It is a crucial element of a good government and the foundation of a free society. It also forms the basis of privacy protections, stopping organisations and companies from storing confidential information for an indefinite period of time. This would violate the principles of good business management, and could lead to legal action.
The federal and state governments regulate the retention of public records. It is up to agencies to research and comprehend their requirements for keeping records and then design records schedules that meet these requirements. A vast majority of agencies have designated records officers and records liaisons who are accountable for the development of internal policies, procedures and processes to ensure that the requirements outlined in the schedules of records are consistently and regularly applied by their agency.
The schedules are arranged according to the type of record or series. Each record series has its own retention period which is determined by the historical financial, administrative and historical value of the information contained within the series. For instance, a handwritten record that is later inserted into an electronic data system will typically not be kept as long as the original paper record.