Federal Records Management

NARA Guidance on Managing Web Records Appendixes

January 2005

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APPENDIXES


Table of Contents


APPENDIX A - Definitions

ActiveX--a set of "strategic" object-oriented programming technologies and tools developed by Microsoft allowing the creation of self-sufficient programs that can operate anywhere in an ActiveX network. A rival of the Sun's Java programming language. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

ActiveX control--the rough equivalent of a Java applet. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Applet--an applet is a small program, or application module, that can be sent from a web site, along with browser-ready web content, to a user's workstation thereby allowing the client to perform a simple task without having to send a request back to the server. Applets are written in Java. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Back end--A term used to characterize program interfaces and services relative to the initial user of these interfaces and services. (The "user" may be a human being or a program.) A "back-end" application or program serves indirectly in support of the front-end services, usually by being closer to the required resource or having the capability to communicate with the required resource. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

CGI scripts—A set of instructions that use the common gateway interface [CGI] standard to pass a web user's request from a web server to an application program and to receive data back from the application to the web server in order to forward it to the user. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Content--Any material that is available on a Federal public web site. [from http://www.cio.gov/documents/ICGI/ICGI-June9report.pdf] For agency intranet web sites, the term refers to any material that is available on the intranet site.

Content management system/software--Software that facilitates web site administration by providing suites of web-related functionality that may include template for web content construction, on-the-fly page creation from databases, versioning control, workflow, and import/export functionalities.

Context--The organizational, functional, and operational circumstances in which documents are created and/or received and used [Society of American Archivists Glossary]. The placement of records within a larger records classification system providing cross-references to other related records.

Cookie--Information that a web site puts on your hard disk so that it can remember something about you at a later time. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

DoD5015.2-STD-- (v. 2--A standard, developed by the Department of Defense Records Management Program and endorsed by the National Archives and Records Administration, that sets forth mandatory baseline functional requirements for Records Management Application [RMA] software, defines required system interfaces and search criteria to be supported, and describes the minimum records management requirements that must be met based upon current NARA regulations.

FAQs--An increasingly common feature of the Internet (pronounced “Fak” or “Fax” in plural), it is usually provided on a web site as a list of “frequently asked questions” (and answers). The FAQ seems to have originated in many of the Usenet groups as a way to acquaint new users with the rules. Today, there are thousands of FAQs on the World Wide Web. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Front end—A term used to characterize program interfaces and services relative to the initial user of these interfaces and services. (The "user" may also be a program.) A "front-end" application is one that application users interact with directly. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

HTML--Hypertext Markup Language, is the set of markup symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser page. [from http://www.w3.org]

Hyperlink--(aka Hypertext Linking) The HTML syntax for expressing the ability for one Internet document to reference another document located either in another portion of the web site or at another web site on the World Wide Web. [from http://www.w3.org]

Internal target--The HTML syntax for expressing the ability for an Internet document to reference another portion of itself. [from http://www.w3.org]

Java--An object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, expressly designed for use in the distributed environment of the Internet, that can also be used to build a small application module or applet for use as part of a web page. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

JavaScript--An interpreted programming or script language from Netscape, which is used in web site development to do such things as automatically change a formatted date on a web page, cause a linked-to page to appear in a popup window, or cause text or a graphic image to change during a mouse rollover. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Legacy system--Applications and associated data that have been inherited from languages, platforms, and techniques earlier than current technology. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Portal--A term, generally synonymous with gateway, for a World Wide Web site that is or proposes to be a major starting site for users when they get connected to the web or that users tend to visit as an anchor site. [from http://whatis.techtarget.com/]

Records schedule--A document describing records of an agency, organization, or administrative unit, establishing a timetable for their life cycle, and providing authorization for their disposition [Society of American Archivists Glossary], i.e., destruction or transfer to the National Archives.

Records series--File units or documents arranged in accordance with a filing system or maintained as a unit because they result from the same accumulation or filing process, the same function, or the same activity; have a particular form; or because of some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use. [Society of American Archivists Glossary]

RMA [Records Management Application]--Software used by an organization to manage its records. An RMA's primary management functions are categorizing and locating records and identifying records that are due for disposition. RMA software also stores, retrieves, and disposes of the electronic records that are stored in its repository.

Structure--The physical and logical format of a record and the relationships between the data elements. [from http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/ electronic-signature-technology.html]

Site map--A linked, graphic or text-based display of a web site's hierarchy, similar to an organization chart. Typically, site maps break down a web site's content into increasingly specific subject areas to help the visitor understand its structure, from the main navigation pages to their subordinate pages. [from http://www.cio.gov/documents/ICGI/ICGI-June9report.pdf]

Web site administrative records--Federal records generated by the web site program office in the course of its operations.

Web site content records--Web site content determined by the agency to meet the statutory criteria in 44 USC 3301 for being deemed a Federal record.

Web site-related records-- Web site-related records include (1) web content records, which represent information presented on a web site, and (2) web site administrative records, which provide evidence of the management and operations of the web site.


APPENDIX B - Web Sites of Possible Interest
Agencies may wish to supplement this initial NARA guidance with these other applicable resources:


APPENDIX C - Web Schedule Options

NOTE: The examples in this appendix do not recommend a specific disposition. They are provided only for illustration of the ways you may structure your schedule items. You must determine the appropriate retention period based on your agency's business and risk mitigation needs.

A. Single schedule item for all web records
See SCHEDULING WEB RECORDS, section 5.1

  1. Agency web site content and all related web management and operations records -- Destroy when ____ old or when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business, whichever is later.

B. Single schedule item for web content and single item for web management and operations records
See SCHEDULING WEB RECORDS, section 5.2

  1. Web site content -- Destroy when ____ old or when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business, whichever is later.
  2. Web management and operations records -- Destroy when ___old or when related web content records are deleted, whichever is later.

C. Multiple schedule items for distinct portions of the web site but a single item for all management and operations records See SCHEDULING WEB RECORDS, section 5.2

  1. Web content:
    a. Pages containing copies of agency issuances -- Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business.

    b. All other pages -- Destroy when ___ old or when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business, whichever is later.
  • Web management and operations records -- Destroy when ___ old or when related web content records are destroyed, whichever is later.
  • D. Multiple schedule items for distinct portions of the web site and multiple items for web management and operations records
    See SCHEDULING WEB RECORDS, section 5.2

    1. Web content:

      a. Pages containing copies of agency directives and handbooks -- Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business.

      b. Pages containing annual reports, IG semiannual reports to Congress, and Privacy Act reports -- Destroy when ___ old.

      c. Monthly snapshot of web content -- Destroy when ___ old.

      d. All other web content -- Destroy when __ old or when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business, whichever is later.

    2. Web management and operations records

      a. Design records -- Destroy after ___ year[s].

      b. Program management records, including policies and procedures -- Destroy when 4 years old or when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed for the conduct of agency business, whichever is later.

      c. Web site posting logs indicating when pages were posted, updated or removed -- Destroy when __ old.

      d. All other records -- Destroy when superseded or obsolete.

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