document A generic term for a physical entity consisting of any substance on which is recorded all or a portion of one or more

works for the purpose of conveying or preservingknowledge. In the words of the communication theorist Marshall McLuhan, a document is the "medium" in which a "message" (information) is communicated. Documentformats include manuscripts, print publications (books, pamphlets, periodicals, reports, maps, prints, etc.), microforms, nonprint media, electronic resources, etc.Abbreviated doc. See also: core document, documentary editing, document delivery service, false document, government documents, and internal document. Also, any form printed on paper, once it has been filled in, especially one that has legal significance or is supplied by a government agency, for example, an application for copyright protection. records Documents in any form, created or received by an agency or person, accumulated in the normal conduct of business or affairs, and retained as evidence of such activity, permanently or for a limited period of time, usually arranged according to a discernible system of recordkeeping. See also: active records, electronic records,housekeeping records, inactive records, intermediate records, machine-readable records, official records, program records, records management, temporary records,time-expired records, and vital records. archives An organized collection of the noncurrent records of the activities of a business, government, organization, institution, or other corporate body, or the personal papers of one or more individuals, families, or groups, retained permanently (or for a designated or indeterminate period of time) by their originator or a successor for their permanent historical, informational, evidential, legal, administrative, or monetary value, usually in a repository managed and maintained by a trained archivist (see this example). Also refers to the office or organization responsible for appraising, selecting, preserving, and providing access to archival materials. Archives can be classified in three broad categories: government archives (example: National Archives and Records Administration), in-house archives maintained by a parent institution, and collecting archives (manuscript libraries, film archives, genealogical archives, sound archives, personal archives, etc.). ProQuest provides thesubscription database Archive Finder. Compare with archive. See also: archival copy, archival database, archival jurisdiction, archival paper, archival quality, archival value, artificial collection, digital archives, International Council on Archives, and Society of American Archivists. The term is also used in academia to refer to a repository of electronic preprints, working papers, and similar documents, commonly called e-print archives. Used in this sense, there is no implication of archival management, which has caused some confusion, for example, around the purpose of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI). file A collection of documents usually related in some way, stored together, and arranged in a systematic order. In computing, a collection of structured data elements storedas a single entity or a collection of records related by source and/or purpose, stored on a magnetic medium (floppy disk, hard disk, Zip disk, etc.). File type, indicated by an extension at the end of the filename, depends on the code in which the data is written (example: .html for HTML script). In AACR2, the term is defined as a basic unit in which electronic resources are organized and stored, some e-resources containing more than one file. In manual data systems, the contents of a manila folder or other physical container used to organize documents, usually of a size and shape designed to fit inside the drawer of a standard-size filing cabinet or other storage space. Also refers to a collection of information about a specific subject or person, stored together as a single unit, sometimes with other files on related subjects or people, for example, a personnel file maintained by an employer. See also: case file, convenience file, and reading file. records management The field of management devoted to achieving accuracy, efficiency, and economy in the systematic creation, retention, conservation, dissemination, use, and dispositionof the official records of a company, government agency, organization, or institution, whether in physical or electronic form, usually undertaken by a professionally trainedrecords manager on the basis of a comprehensive and thorough records survey. Security and disaster preparedness are essential elements of a good records management program. central records

The files of more than one unit of an organization, consolidated and maintained in a single location to allow greater efficiency than is possible with decentralized records. Also, the records of several individuals or entities consolidated under a common filing system. In such a system, the files of each unit or individual are usually maintained separately from those of other units, but organized according to a prescribed filing plan, with each file assigned a classification code under which it is filed. Click here to see an example at the level of local government. Synonymous with central files and centralized files. vital records Records essential to an agency in the ongoing conduct of its business or affairs, without which it would cease to function effectively, for example, the file of patron records used by a library in circulation transactions. For archivists, identifying and protecting vital records under every conceivable circumstance is a primary concern in records management and disaster planning. See also: vaulting. Also refers to the official records of births, deaths, and marriages maintained by an agency of local, state, or national government. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provide a Web site on Where to Write for Vital Records in the United States. Synonymous with vital statistics. See also: civil register.