
Record: Public records are defined in CT Gen. Statutes Sec. 1-200(5) as:"any recorded data or information relating to the conduct of the public's business--prepared, owned, used, received, or retained by a public agency, whether such data or information be handwritten, typed, tape-recorded, printed, photostatted, photographed, or recorded by any other method."
Non-Record: The above definition of a record is very broad. The physical characteristics of non-record materials are the same as for record materials. The differences between a non-record and a record are the reasons for keeping the information and how the information is used. Now, more and more information is kept in non-paper format. When you examine the records kept by an office, you may find that information is kept in machine-readable format as well as hard copy. You will have to make the distinction between the record and the non-record copy.
Record Series: A group of similar or related records that are normally used and filed as a unit and that can be evaluated as a unit for determining the record retention period. All of the records that make up a record series must have the same retention periods. You cannot break up a record series into individual records and give each a different retention period.
Records Retention Schedule: A comprehensive list of record series which indicates for each series the length of time it is to be maintained until it is reviewed for destruction or archival retention. It also indicates retention in active and inactive storage areas.
*All definitions are from the 1999 State of Connecticut OPRA Records Management Manual.