In accordance with §25-59-9, §25-59-29, and §25-60-1 of the Mississippi Code of

In accordance with §25-59-9, §25-59-29, and §25-60-1 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated, as amended, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) maintains a list of standards required for the reproduction of public records when using digital imaging and microfilming systems. By setting these standards, MDAH seeks to ensure that public records maintained only in microform or digital image formats will remain accessible to the public or custodian for the full period that the records must be retained. The standards are applicable to all custodians of public records (as defined in §25-59-3, MCA 1972) including state agencies, counties, municipalities, school districts, and other entities of the state of Mississippi. Adherence to the standards is required when reformatting records which have been determined by the State Records Committee or Local Government Records Committee to have either permanent archival value or enduring value to the custodian; which have been so designated on an approved records control schedule; and which will be destroyed after they are reformatted. Records of enduring value are those records which, although not permanent or archival, an entity determines need to be retained for a period of time after the records become inactive. Custodians of public records may destroy the original records from which the reproductions have been made, or any part of them, provided that: A. the records are of no value to the agency concerned; B. MDAH certifies that the records may be destroyed through the provisions of retention schedules approved by the State Records Committee or Local Government Records Committee; and C. the records reformatted and approved for destruction are reported to MDAH in such manner as it may direct. If an agency or local government has an imaging application that requires adoption of technical standards that are not in compliance with these standards, it is not the intention of MDAH to impose standards that will reduce the intended benefits of the application, provided demonstrated, responsible steps have been taken to insure the future migration of the images in accordance with retention requirements. In such cases, the agency or local government should request to work with MDAH to develop alternative systems. The use of an alternative system should be considered exceptional. MDAH will not approve disposal of original records unless it is fully confident that all measures insuring future migration of data are in place. In addition, custodians of public records are advised to follow the Department's recommended practices for digitizing public records. These guidelines, which specify recommended practices of system management and operation that will help ensure long-term accessibility to the reformatted records, cover the areas of documentation, quality control, indexing, migration, back-up/disaster recovery/security, expungement/redaction/encryption capabilities, legality, and system selection.