,!1.,,,. Uni^rig. Digital ^ of Records Procedure. Digital Imaging of Records Procedure 8/2/ Approved by Approval date

Transcription

1 ,!1.,,,. Uni^rig ^. in Australia, Sumod of NSW & ACT Digital ^. ag. rig of Records Procedure Title Creation Date Version Last Revised Approved by Approval date Digital Imaging of Records Procedure 8/2/ Acting General Secretary 23/5/17

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. PURPOSE 2. SCOPE 3. REGULATORY AND BEST PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS 4. DEFINITIONS 5. IMAGING REQUIREMENTS. IMAGING RECORDS.1 Suitability of Records for Digital Imaging 2 Imaging Test Documents.3 MFD.4 Scanner Software.5 Colour Digital Imaging 7. VERSIONS AND INTEGRITY 7.1 Versions of a Digital linage Created During the Scanning Process 7.2 Digital Imaging Integrity 8. QUALITY CONTROL AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 8.1 Technical Specifications of a Digital linage Files 8.2 Quality Control 9. DIGITISATION PROJECTS 9.1 Certification of Digitisation Projects 9.2 Digital Imaging Conducted by External Providers 10. DISPOSING OF PHYSICAL RECORDS 10.1 Disposal of Originals 10.2 Storage and Destruction 11 SECURITY AND ACCESS OF ORIGINAL PHYSICAL FORM RECORDS 12. RESPONSIBILITIES 13. EVALUATION 14. RELATED DOCUMENTS 15. REVIEW DATE 1. APPENDICES 17. AUTHORISING OFFICER APPENDIX I: QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR THE AD Hoc DIGITisATioN OF PHYSICAL FORM RECORDS 10 APPENDIX 2: QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR DIGITISATION PROJECTS 11 APPENDIX 3: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF DIGITAL IMAGE FILES 42 APPENDIX 4: EXAMPLE OF A CERTIFICATION FOR DIGITISATION PROJECTS Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page 2 of 13

3 I. PURPOSE The purpose of this procedure is to provide direction and guidance to the employees of the Uniting Church of Australia Synod of NSW and ACT (Synod) to ensure that any records in physical form converted into digital images are created, captured and managed in accordance with the requirements of the Synod's records management program. 2. SCOPE This procedure applies to either ad hoc record imaging or digitisation projects. Work groups and teams must contact the Records Manager for authorisation to proceed prior to undertaking a digitisation project. This procedure also applies to all technological, administrative and operational environments in which the Synod's work is conducted, employees, third party providers of services and any collaborative activities undertaken with partner organisations. 3. REGULATO Y AND BEST PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS As the Synod's work is increasingly being conducted in the digital environment, digital information strategies must be developed and implemented to support the transition from paper to digital recordkeeping A digital record, whether created on a computer or as a scanned copy of a document, is acceptable as evidence of a record and may be used in a court of law. The digital record can be trusted as evidence if it can be authenticated by capturing the record in a compliant recordkeeping system. The Synod creates digital images of physical documents by scanning those documents and must have processes in place to support their capture and management as records for the duration they are required 4. DEFINITIONS Digital Imaging A method of image editing in which an original record is converted, via scanning, into digital information in the form of pixels that can be read and manipulated by a computer, and reformed as a visible image. Digitisation Project Any digital imaging activity which does not involve the ad hoc or routine scanning of records, for example, back-capture digitisation activities, batch-type scanning conversion from a physical process or when using an external provider. Employee Any person that performs work on behalf of the Synod in any capacity including (but not limited to) paid staff, contractors, consultants, graduates, volunteers, committee members and ministry agents. Ephemeral Records Records of little value that only need to be kept for a limited or short period of time. Ephemeral records have no continuing value to the organisation and, generally, are only needed for a few hours or a few days. Normal Administrative Practice (NAP) Disposal of ephemeral or focilitative records without formal authorisation Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page 3 of 13

4 Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Digital conversion of images of typed or printed text into machine-encoded documents that allows text based searching of the document content. Record Information in any form including data in computer systems, documents created, received and maintained as evidence by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business (As ISO Part I Clause 3.15). As a guide records can be either physical or digital. Physical media includes: paper, audio or video cassettes, film, photographs, publications and microfilm/fiche etc. Digital records include word processing documents, spreadsheets, , plans, drawings, images, information on websites, online transactions, databases, information in computer systems, text messages and information on social media sites etc. In practice this means any information or document made or received by any person in the course of their work for any purpose. Recordkeeping System An automated system used to manage the creation, use, maintenance and disposal of digitally created records, documents and content for the purposes of providing evidence of operational activities. It maintains appropriate contextual information (metadata) and links between records, documents and content to support their value as evidence. 5. IMAGING REQUIREMENTS Digital images of records have the same requirements for capture, control and destruction as physical form records. In accordance with relevant legislation the Synod allows for records to be scanned and the physical form originals destroyed. The digital copy becomes the 'official' record of the Synod. Scanned records must be saved directly into the Synod's designated recordkeeping system/s (where available). The aim of scanning is to have a digital copy that matches the physical form original as closely as possible The physical originals can only be destroyed once the following conditions have been met:. the scanned copy is a true reflection of the original;. the scanned copy is authentic, complete and accessible;. the scanned copy will be kept for the authorised retention period as per disposal authorisations issued by the Synod;. for ad hoc scanning the original record must be kept for a minimum of one month after scanning for quality control purposes; and. for digitisation projects the original records must be kept for a minimum of six months after scanning for quality control purposes, however, this period may be reduced subject to discussions with the Records Manager as part of the authorisation to proceed (see section 2) No destruction of originals immediately post digitisation is to occur without the approval of the Records Manager. See the requirements for destruction under section 10. Once original records are destroyed the scanned digital copy must be kept for the full retention period as identified in any disposal authorisations issued by the Synod. Exceptions There are some original physical form records which must not be destroyed even after scanning. These are:. records that are considered to have intrinsic value in their original format e. g. records that have a cultural, iconic, heritage or aesthetic value as a physical artefact; 2017 Uniting Church Last updated: I 8105/2017 Page 4 of 13

5 . original film (including photographic negatives) or key analogue audio-visual material; and. records subject to a legal requirement that the original record not be destroyed. The Records Manager must be consulted regarding the assessment and preservation of these records.. IMAGING RECORDS.1 Suitability of Records for Digital Imaging Not all physical form records need to be digitised. For example, copies of ephemeral, short term records covered by Normal Administrative Practice (NAP) need not be digitised. Digitisation should take place where there is a clear benefit To be suitable for imaging a record in its original form must be clean and legible without obscuring marks which may affect or conceal its content Some older records due to their fragile condition may require conservation assessment and treatment prior to digitisation. Fragile conditions can include tears, damage to records, rolled plans which need to be flattened, paper degradation and water damage, etc. In these circumstances contact the Records Manager before proceeding.2 Imaging Test Documents Multi-Function Devices (MFD) or dedicated imaging devices (scanners) may be used for the digitisation of records (see Appendix I for a quick reference guide for the ad hoc digitisation of physical form records and Appendix 3 for the technical specifications of digital images)..3 MFD. MFD usually operate with a pre-set page and size limitation per digital image;. when using a MFD to scan a document staff may send the image to the 'scan' folder on the network drive for that group or to their work inbox;. in all cases ensure that the digital image is not split into multiple digitised documents;. multiple physical documents should not be digitised into the one digital document but digitised as individual documents. Note: one document may contain multiple pages;. the output file format is PDF with colour (default setting);. some MFD use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) when converting the image allowing text based searching of the document;. save the PDF record into the designated recordkeeping system/s (where available) and retitle the record in accordance with approved naming conventions. Do not save the record with the identification number assigned by the MFD;. if the digital record is a digitised version of an original Word document already saved in the recordkeeping system (e. g. scanning a document with a signature), save the digitised record as a new version of the original. This ensures that the full document version history is retained together; and. following registration in the recordkeeping system delete document images from the network folder or folder..4 Scanner Software Acquisition of scanners and scanning software is governed by the Information Technology and Systems group. Any software used on dedicated scanners to capture documents into a designated recordkeeping system also needs to be approved by the Records Manager Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page 5 of 13

6 .5 Colour Digital Imaging While there are minimum requirements for the digital imaging of colour records (see Appendix 3) it is acceptable to digitise text based colour records in black and white or greyscale so long as significant information or meaning is not lost in the digitisation process. 7. VERSIONS AND INTEGRITY 7.1 Versions of a Digital linage Created During the Scanning Process If several versions of a digital image have been created while trying to achieve the best quality image possible, the digital image that is the final output of this process (meeting the requirements in Appendix 3) will be regarded as the record to be captured. Digital images that do not meet quality control requirements (see section 8.2) can be destroyed under NAP. 7.2 Digital Imaging Integrity If a digital image requires enhancement (e. g. sharpening, clipping of highlights or shadows, blurring to eliminate scratches and spotting or de-speckling) through the digitisation process to improve its readability, any image enhancements should be well documented when saving into the recordkeeping system to prevent the credibility of a digital image being questioned 8. QUALITY CONTROL AND T CHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 8., Technical Specifications of a Digital linage Files The Synod requires digital images to meet minimum technical specifications as outlined in Appendix Quality Control The following quality control measures must be in place to enable the compliant digitisation of physical form records for ad hoc digitisation or digitisation projects.. Careful preparation of the records for digitisation to ensure that the best digital image is produced. For example, the records are not folded or creased, obscuring information. Quality checking to ensure: o smallest detail is legibly captured (e. g. smallest type size for text; clarity of punctuation marks, including decimal points) o completeness of detail (e. g. acceptability of broken characters, missing segments of lines) o both sides of double sided pages have been imaged o pages must be in correct order with no missing pages o dimensional accuracy compared with the original o no scanner generated speckle (i. e. speckle not present on the original) o completeness of overall image area (i. e. no missing information at the edges of the image area) o uniformity of direction (i. e. pages are not upside down or skewed) o density of solid black areas o colour fidelity 2017 Uniting Church Last updated: I 8105/2017 Page of 13

7 9. DIGIT SATION PROJECTS 9., Certification of Digitisation Projects. consult with the Records Manager for appropriate guidance prior to undertaking any digitisation project;. upon completion of the digitisation project, a certificate (see Appendix 4) must be signed off by the manager of the team conducting the digitisation to confirm that the digitisation has been reviewed and is compliant with this procedure; and. the signed certificate must be forwarded to the Records Manager. 9.2 Digital Imaging Conducted by External Providers If the digitisation is conducted by an external provider and submitted to the Synod on a CD/DVD or other external storage device, the records must be saved into the recordkeeping system (where available) as soon as possible. The requirements of this procedure must be clearly communicated to the external provider and the digital images produced must be consistent with these requirements. This includes ensuring that the scanned digital images can be imported successfully into the recordkeeping system. IO. DISPOSING OF PHYSICAL RECORDS 10.1 Disposal of Originals Original records may be destroyed after successful digitisation and capture into the recordkeeping system, except for records identified in section 5 Imaging Requirements Exceptions. If copies of digital images are made but not used as part of any transaction, they are the equivalent of photocopies of physical form records and can be destroyed under NAP No destruction of originals immediately post digitisation is to occur without the approval of the Records Manager. I0.2 Storage and Destruction If the originals can be destroyed, the following process should be implemented: Ad Hoc Digitisation. retain for a minimum of one month following digitisation for quality control purposes;. store originals in a container (folder, secure envelope or box), labelling the container to note that it contains 'Original source records digitised' while awaiting destruction;. ensure that all digital images are stored accurately in the recordkeeping system; and. when able to destroy, remove original records from the container and place in the nearest secure destruction bin or use a paper shredder. Reuse the container as necessary for future digitised records. Digitisation Projects. retain for a minimum period of six months following digitisation for quality control purposes. The six month period commences from the last day of the month that the record was digitised. This period may be reduced subject to discussions with the Records Manager as part of the authorisation to proceed (see section 2);. store all original records digitised in a day, or week if volumes are low, in a suitable box, clearly marking the date for destruction on the box;. store the records in the order that they were received or sent; 2017 Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page 7 of 13

8 . ensure that all digital images of records are stored accurately in the recordkeeping system;. complete a certificate to verify the digitisation has been reviewed and is compliant with this procedure (see Appendix 4); and. when able to destroy, remove original records from the box and place in the nearest secure destruction bin or use a paper shredder. Reuse the box as necessary for future digitised records. This process allows the work group/team time to quality check and refer back to material awaiting destruction in case there are issues requiring resolution. Employees must not add records to original physical files after digitisation if those records will be destroyed. If the original records are retained for any legitimate reason (with approval from the Records Manager) they need to be captured, stored and managed on a physical file and related to the digitised records in the recordkeeping system. Note: under no circumstances can records be placed in general waste or recycle bins for destruction. For large volume destruction consult the Records Manager on the most appropriate method before proceeding. 11. SECURITY AND ACCESS OF ORIGINA PHYSICAL FORM RECORDS An adequate level of security should be maintained during and after digitising original records. As a guide this includes:. not leaving scanners unattended while they are in operation;. not leaving original physical form records around desks when desks are unattended; and. keeping boxes with content awaiting destruction in secure storage for authorised personnel until they are destroyed. I2. RESPONSIBILITIES The Records Manager is responsible for the provision of advice and guidance in regard to the application of the requirements of this procedure. The manager of the group/team conducting the digitisation is responsible for ensuring that this procedure is followed and the digital images captured in the recordkeeping system are in accordance with relevant procedures for the capture of records Employees are responsible for ensuring that scanned records meet quality control requirements I3. EVALU TION The effectiveness and appropriateness of this procedure will be evaluated by the Records Manager in accordance with the Synod's records and information management performance monitoring and review program. 14. RELATED DOCUMENTS. Records Management Policy. Record Naming Conventions I5. REVIEW DATE Every three years or where relevant changes to legislative requirements, information standards or operational practices require an earlier review Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/20,7 Page 8 of 13

9 I. APPENDICES. Appendix I - Quick Reference Guide for the Ad Hoc Digitisation of Physical Form Records. Appendix 2 - Quick Reference Guide for Digitisation Projects. Appendix 3 - Technical Specifications of Digital linage Files. Appendix 4 - Example of a Certification for Digitisation Projects I7. AUTHORISING OFFICER Signed:^.,, v\.-c_.~~"~~7' Name 3"", e. ^"11 Date: 2.31S"'// Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page 9 of 13

10 APPENDIX I : QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR THE AD Hoc DIGITISATION OF PHYSICAL FORM RECORDS Use a MFD and check the appropriate settings. Scans must be as true as possible to the original (a colour record can be digitised as a black and white if the colour is not meaningful e. g. applies to a logo). Scan both sides if it is a double-sided record Do riot include multiple original records in the one digital image. Do not reduce or increase the size of the record. Output to PDF. Review the scan result (digital image) to ensure that: o all details are legibly captured o both sides of a double-sided record are captured o no pages are missing from the digital image i. e. IO pages scanned with IO pages in the image o no speckle is generated from the scanner on the digital image o the digital image is a complete copy o no pages are folded over o pages are not upside down or skewed o colours are true to the original where needed. Save the digitised record in the recordkeeping system.. Title the record in accordance with approved naming conventions.. Write the system generated identification number on the original record and date captured into the system Retain the original for at least one month following digitisation for quality control purposes Place the original in a secure container (envelope, folder or box), labelling the container to note that it contains 'Original source records digitised'. Periodically review the secure container and destroy records that have been retained for longer than one month Destroy records by removing from the container and placing in the nearest secure destruction bin or use a paper shredder. Reuse the container as necessary for future digested records Uniting Church Last updated: I 8105/2017 Page I O of 13

11 APPENDIX 2: QUIC REFERENCE GUIDE FOR DIGITISATION PROJECTS Consult with the Records Manager for authorisation to proceed prior to undertaking any digitisation projects. Commence digitisation. If using an external provider ensure they adhere to the quality requirements of this procedure and that the digitised records provided are saved into the recordkeeping system as soon as possible. f digitisation is performed in-house follow the steps below: Use a MFD or other suitable scanner and ensure the appropriate settings. Scans must be as true as possible to the original (a colour record can be digitised as a black and white if the colour is not meaningful e. g. applies to a logo etc. ). Scan both sides if it is a double-sided record. Do not include multiple original records in the one digital image. Do riot reduce or increase the size of the record. Output to PDF. Randomly sample the digital output to ensure that: o all details are legibly captured o both sides of a double-sided record are captured o no pages are missing from the digital image i. e. 10 pages scanned with 10 pages in the image o no speckle is generated from the scanner on the digital image o the digital image is a complete copy o no pages are folded over o pages are not upside down or skewed o colours are true to the original where needed Save the digitised records in the recordkeeping system. Title the records in accordance with approved naming conventions Retain for a minimum period of six months following digitisation for quality control purposes. The six month period commences from the last day of the month that the record was digitised. This period may be reduced subject to discussions with the Records Manager as part of the authorisation to proceed (see section 2) Store originals in a suitable box in the order they were received or sent Mark the date for destruction on the box. The manager of the group/team conducting the digitisation must sign a certificate (see Appendix 4) to confirm that the digitisation has been reviewed and is complaint with this procedure.. Forward the signed certificate to the Records Manager Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page I I of 13

12 AP ENDIX 3: TECHNICAL SPECI IC TIONS OF DI ITAL IMAGE FILES For the scanning of documents, photographs and drawings, and for digitisation projects, the Synod requires digital images to meet the following minimum technical specifications. These specifications are a guide only. Some record categories where specific requirements apply or where fine detail for viewing is required may need to be digitised at a higher resolution. Document Type Resolution Bit Depth File Format Compression Text documents, black and white 300 dpi I bit (bi-tonal) PDF Lossless Documents: grey shading, grey graphics or watermarked 300dpi 8 bit greyscale PDF Lossless Documents with discreet colour used in text or diagrams 300dpi 8 bit co our PDF Loss ess Photographs - black and white 00dpi 8 bit grey scale PDF or JPEG Lossless Photographs - colour 00dpi 24 bit colour PDF or JPEG Lossless Drawings and plans - black and white 300dpi (X and Y 8 bit greyscale dimension) PDF Lossless Drawings and plans - colour 300dpi (X and Y 24 or 8 bit colour dimension) PDF Lossless 2017 Uniting Church Last updated: I 8105/2017 Page 12 of 43

13 APPENDIX 4: EXAM LE DIGITISATION PROJECTS OF A CERTIFICATION FOR 8 February 2017 Records Manager Certification for digitisation projects I certify that the tname of pro^cfj digitisation project is complete. I have conducted an evaluation of the digital imaging process assessing the following points. A sample [X %] of the digitised images was checked for quality control purposes. The digitised images were captured and stored in the correct format in tname of recordkeeping systeml following the Synod's records management procedures. The process followed by [business group/team name] has been reviewed and is compliant with the Synod's. I certify that all digitised images are true reflections of the originals and compliant with the Digital Imaging of Records Procedure. The original records of these digital images will be disposed of according to the requirements of this procedure. [name] [position] tbusiness unifj 2017 Uniting Church Last updated: 18/05/2017 Page 13 of 13