Defines some of the more commonly used archival and recordkeeping terms.
For a complete list see Archives New Zealand’s guide Glossary of Archives and
Recordkeeping Terms.

Agency:

A body, business, organisation or institution that creates or manages its own records in the course of its business or activities. In the case of large organisations or institutions, subordinate parts such as departments, sections, units, regional or branch offices may be regarded as separate agencies.

Appraisal:

The process of evaluating records to determine which are to be retained as archives, which are to be kept for specific periods and which will be destroyed.

Disposal:

1. “The final decision concerning the fate of records, i.e. destruction or transfer to
archives. On rare occasions the disposal may be by sale or donation. 2. A programme of activities to facilitate the orderly transfer of intermediate and inactive records from current office space into low-cost or archival storage. It includes surveys, scheduling, and records destruction.”

Under the PRA, “disposal, in relation to a public record or local authority record, means: the transfer of control of a record; or the sale, alteration, destruction, or discharge of a record.” (PRA, s4).

One-off or Ad hoc:

A non-continuing approval, not intended to set a precedent, which provides a particular disposal action for a specific set of circumstances.

Series:

Those records having the same provenance, which belong together because:

• they are of similar formats and/or relate to the same function
• they are part of a discernible filing or classification (alphabetical, numerical, chronological or a combination of these)
• they have been kept together because they perform or record similar activities.

Sub-series:

A logical sub-grouping of a series.