• 7.3 LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Although this standard is issued in relation to the provisions of the Archives Act, other legislation also has requirements for the creation and retention of records. The legal context of the records and any statutory requirements to maintain them must be considered. Requirements to retain records under other legislation does not, however, imply that the records merit permanent preservation in terms of the Archives Act.

  • 7.4 INFORMATIONAL VALUE

As well as evidential value, records also have informational value. The activity and events recorded in the documents may have a general historical or heritage interest. Do the records contain information relating to major current or past events that have featured prominently in the agency's history or local/national history? If so, explain what information, what it might reveal and how it might be used.

Do the records have value for social science, medical, technical, scientific, genealogical, or other specialised research reasons? Explain (what uses and why). The research potential of the records offered for appraisal must be provided (i.e. give an idea of the type of research use the records could be put to and an indication as to how frequently/heavily used forresearch purposes. This should not be exhaustive but a few specific examples.) Consider:

  • Informational Content
  • Value as a Historical Source
  • Uniqueness
  • Credibility
  • Understandability
  • Accessibility
  • Confidentiality
  • Time Span

  • 7.5 COST CONSIDERATIONS

Any appraisal recommendation is the result of weighing up the costs and benefits of retaining the records. Consideration should therefore be given to the costs attached to the retention of records, as well as their value. Consider:

  • Processing and Implementation Costs
  • Storage Costs
  • Preservation Costs

  • 7.6 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

While appraisal should generally be based on an assessment of the value of the record rather than its form, physical characteristics of the record or of the record keeping environment represented by the record may on occasion be relevant. Consider:

  • Volume
  • Form
  • Completeness
  • Scarcity or Abundance
  • Age
  • Monetary value (e.g. contains unique/valuable paintings by a famous artist)