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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>58113</law_id><section_number>42.1-77</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>17.1-213</reference><reference>17.1-258.3:1</reference><reference>2.2-3808</reference><reference>24.2-948.7</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="42.1">Libraries</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="7">Virginia Public Records Act</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Agency</span>&#x201D; means all <span class="dictionary">boards</span>, commissions, departments, divisions, institutions, and authorities, and parts thereof, of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions and includes the offices of constitutional officers.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Archival record</span>&#x201D; means a public record of continuing and enduring value useful to the citizens of the Commonwealth and necessary to the administrative functions of public agencies in the conduct of services and activities mandated by <span class="dictionary">law</span> that is identified on a Library of Virginia approved <span class="dictionary">records retention and disposition schedule</span> as having sufficient informational value to be permanently maintained by the Commonwealth.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Archives</span>&#x201D; means the program administered by The Library of Virginia for the <span class="dictionary">preservation</span> of <span class="dictionary">archival records</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Board</span>&#x201D; means the State Library <span class="dictionary">Board</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Conversion</span>&#x201D; means the act of moving <span class="dictionary">electronic records</span> to a different format, especially data from an obsolete format to a current format.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Custodian</span>&#x201D; means the <span class="dictionary">public official</span> in charge of an office having <span class="dictionary">public records</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Disaster plan</span>&#x201D; means the information maintained by an <span class="dictionary">agency</span> that outlines recovery techniques and methods to be followed in case of an emergency that impacts the <span class="dictionary">agency</span>&#x2019;s records.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Electronic record</span>&#x201D; means a public record whose creation, storage, and access require the use of an automated system or device. Ownership of the hardware, software, or media used to create, store, or access the <span class="dictionary">electronic record</span> has no bearing on a determination of whether such record is a public record.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Essential public record</span>&#x201D; means records that are required for recovery and reconstruction of any <span class="dictionary">agency</span> to enable it to resume its core operations and functions and to protect the rights and interests of persons.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Librarian of Virginia</span>&#x201D; means the State <span class="dictionary">Librarian of Virginia</span> or his designated representative.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Lifecycle</span>&#x201D; means the creation, use, maintenance, and disposition of a public record.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Migration</span>&#x201D; means the act of moving <span class="dictionary">electronic records</span> from one information system or medium to another to ensure continued access to the records while maintaining the records&#x2019; authenticity, integrity, reliability, and usability.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Original record</span>&#x201D; means the first generation of the information and is the preferred version of a record. <span class="dictionary">Archival records</span> should to the maximum extent possible be <span class="dictionary">original records</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Preservation</span>&#x201D; means the processes and operations involved in ensuring the technical and intellectual survival of authentic records through time.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Public official</span>&#x201D; means all persons holding any office created by the Constitution of Virginia or by any act of the General Assembly, the Governor and all other officers of the executive branch of the state government, and all other officers, heads, presidents, or chairmen of <span class="dictionary">boards</span>, commissions, departments, and agencies of the state government or its political subdivisions.
		&#x201C;Public record&#x201D; or &#x201C;record&#x201D; means recorded information that documents a transaction or activity by or with any public officer, <span class="dictionary">agency</span>, or employee of an <span class="dictionary">agency</span>. Regardless of physical form or characteristic, the recorded information is a &#x201C;public record&#x201D; if it is produced, collected, received, or retained in pursuance of <span class="dictionary">law</span> or in connection with the transaction of public business. The medium upon which such information is recorded has no bearing on the determination of whether the recording is a &#x201C;public record.&#x201D;
		For purposes of this chapter, &#x201C;public record&#x201D; does not include (i) nonrecord <span class="dictionary">materials</span>, meaning <span class="dictionary">materials</span> made or acquired and preserved solely for reference use or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience or reference, or stocks of publications or (ii) records that are not related to or affect the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official ceremonial duties of a <span class="dictionary">public official</span>, including the correspondence, diaries, journals, or notes that are not prepared for, utilized for, circulated, or communicated in the course of the transaction of public business.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Records retention and disposition schedule</span>&#x201D; means a Library of Virginia-approved timetable stating the required retention period and disposition action of a records series. The administrative, fiscal, historical, and <span class="dictionary">legal</span> value of a public record shall be considered in appraising its appropriate retention schedule. The terms &#x201C;administrative,&#x201D; &#x201C;fiscal,&#x201D; &#x201C;historical,&#x201D; and &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">legal</span>&#x201D; value shall be defined as:</p></section>
						<section id="1"><p><span class="prefix-number">1.</span> &#x201C;Administrative value&#x201D;: Records shall be deemed of administrative value if they have continuing utility in the operation of an <span class="dictionary">agency</span>. <a id="paragraph-212933" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/42.1-77/#1"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2"><p><span class="prefix-number">2.</span> &#x201C;Fiscal value&#x201D;: Records shall be deemed of fiscal value if they are needed to document and verify financial authorizations, obligations, and transactions. <a id="paragraph-212934" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/42.1-77/#2"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="3"><p><span class="prefix-number">3.</span> &#x201C;Historical value&#x201D;: Records shall be deemed of historical value if they contain unique information, regardless of age, that provides understanding of some aspect of the government and promotes the development of an informed and enlightened citizenry. <a id="paragraph-212935" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/42.1-77/#3"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="4"><p><span class="prefix-number">4.</span> &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Legal</span> value&#x201D;: Records shall be deemed of <span class="dictionary">legal</span> value if they document actions taken in the protection and proving of <span class="dictionary">legal</span> or civil rights and obligations of individuals and agencies. <a id="paragraph-212936" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/42.1-77/#4"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>1976, c. 746; 1977, c. 501; 1981, c. 637; 1987, c. 217; 1990, c. 778; 1994, cc. 390, 955; 1998, cc. 427, 470; 2005, c. 787; 2006, c. 60; 2022, c. 355.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
