November 24, 1999
number 1891
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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
 
 
Office of the Provost Campus Box 3000, 104 South Building
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3000
(919) 962-2198 FAX: (919) 962-1593

December 15, 1999


TO:  Deans, Directors, and Department Heads
FROM:  Timothy R. Sanford, Electronic Records Officer
RE:  North Carolina Public Records Law Indexing Requirements

    As Electronic Records Officer for the University, my main responsibility is to help this campus comply with the database indexing requirements of the North Carolina Public Records Law. General Statute 132-6. 1 (b) is reproduced on the back of this page and, briefly, requires every unit at Carolina to index each computer database compiled or created since July 1, 1996. These indices need to be forwarded to me and will be maintained as a public record on the University's home page by Records Management working with Administrative Information Services (AIS)

        There are still some questions remaining to be answered about just what  databases need to be indexed. Generally, only "official databases" of the University are subject to the indexing requirement, and only those that are created or changed significantly after July 1, 1996. Guidelines issued by the Division of Archives and History of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources are available electronically through Internet access at http://www.spr.dcr.state.nc.us , and I urge you to review them (look for Public Database Indexing Guidelines). These are updated as In pa questions arise or interpretation of the General Statutes changes. In particular do I refer you to the section on "Basic Guidelines - Required Database Indexing" which explains what is needed when a database must be indexed. Note that the section on "Advanced Indexing" is optional.

      Again, I ask that you review those official databases for which you are responsible and determine any which have been created since July 1, 1996 or which have undergone significant change. Merely adding data to the database, for example adding new faculty hired for 1999-00 to the Human Resources System or new freshmen to the Student Information System, does not constitute significant change. However, the addition of one or more new data fields to an existing database probably is a significant change and would mandate indexing.

      If you have questions about this, please feel free to give me a call at 843-7991 or e-mail at tim sanford@unc.edu.  I appreciate those of you who have called or written over the last three years. I look forward to receiving copies of any database index that you need to do by February 15 or thereafter as additional databases are created or changed.

        Thanks in advance for your help and cooperation.

North Carolina General Statutes § 132-6. 1. (b)

Every public agency shall create an index of computer databases compiled or created by a public agency on the following schedule:

State agencies by July 1, 1996; Municipalities with populations of 10,000 or more, counties with populations of 25,000 or more, as determined by the 1990 U.S. Census, and public hospitals in those counties, by July 1, 1997; Municipalities with populations of less than 10,000, counties with populations of less than 25,000, as determined by the 1990 U.S. Census, and public hospitals in those counties, by July 1, 1998. Political subdivisions and their agencies that are not otherwise covered by this schedule, after June 30, 1998.
The index shall be a public record and shall include, at minimum, the following information with respect to each database listed therein: a list of the data fields; a description of the format or record layout; information as to the frequency with which the database is updated; a list of any data fields to which public access is restricted; a description of each form in which the database can be copied or reproduced using the agency's computer facilities; and a schedule of fees for the production of copies in each available form. Electronic databases compiled or created prior to the date by which the index must be created in accordance with this subsection may be indexed at the public agency's option. The form, content, language, and guidelines for the index and the databases to be indexed shall be developed by the Division of Archives and History in consultation with officials at other public agencies.