The International Council on Archives (ICA) Committee on Electronic Records defines a record as "a recorded information produced or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an institutional or individual activity and that comprises content, context and structure sufficient to bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken evidence of the activity."
Forensic experts may need to examine a document or artifact to determine that it bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken a forgery, and that any damage, alteration, or missing content is documented.
This level of authentication is rare, but requires that special care be bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken in the creation and retention of the records of an organization.
Records must be stored bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken that they are accessible and safeguarded against environmental damage.
Vital records may need to bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken stored in a disaster-resistant safe or vault to protect against fire, flood, earthquakes and conflict.
In extreme cases, the item bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken require both disaster-proofing and public access, such as the original, signed US Constitution.
In addition to on-site storage of records, many bein such a wayis notmayorganizationsprovidetaken operate their own off-site records centers or contract with commercial records centers.