This is the first in a series of blog posts examining the criteria used in the appraisal process and looks at historical value and statewide significance.
The Functional Schedule for North Carolina State Agencies includes three dispositions for records with historical value:
- Permanent: Retain in office permanently;
- Permanent (archival): Transfer to the State Records Center and into the custody of the State Archives of North Carolina;
- Permanent (appraisal required): Contact your records analyst at the Government Records Section to schedule an appraisal with the appraisal archivist, who will determine the historical value of the records and decide which of the first two options should be applied.
Some of the questions to be answered to determine historical value include:
- Are the materials genuine public records that were transferred directly from the creator to the current custodian?
- Are the materials archival under the relevant Retention Schedule?
- Are the materials historic through age, content, and so on?
- Are the materials unique, or are they already archived?
- Do the materials have statewide significance
That last question often leads people to ask, What is statewide significance?
One definition is found in legislation for the state highway historic marker program: “events, persons or sites of prominence over and above those of regional note” (07 NCAC 04T.101).
At first glance, that may look like a statement of the blindingly obvious, but let’s look at this definition a little further.
First, the “significance” is established by a direct association with people, events, activities, or developments that shaped North Carolina history, or are associated with important aspects of the state.
Then, the material must be of importance to the state as a whole, not just of local or regional significance. This importance could be due to uniqueness to North Carolina, economic or social impact on citizens all over the state, or the way a particular culture, organization, historic incident, or an era is represented.
In essence, Do the records have the potential to improve our understanding of North Carolina’s past?
Drilling down from these initial considerations, the appraisal would assess such things as:
- Are the records complete and comprehensive?
- Do the records provide evidence of change over time?
- Do the materials complement, link to, or improve the understanding of other records?
- Are the items from a time period currently underrepresented in the archives?
- Would there be public or research interest in the materials?
Looking at specific examples, RC 111.P covers documents recording the history of an agency that have historical significance. A 54-page DHHS document describing the history of the North Carolina Medicaid Program would be appraised as transfer to State Archives: it covers the whole state, it is North Carolina specific, it’s comprehensive, and the subject is legislation that was important to the agency and that had direct effects on citizen’s lives.
Conversely, a single page describing in very general terms types of state parks would not be of historical value or statewide significance, not because of the volume difference (i.e., 54 pages versus just 1), but because of the content. In the case of the state parks document, that information is available elsewhere in more comprehensive and informative records, such as reports of the agency.
Hopefully this blog has improved your understanding of this aspect of the appraisal process, but if you need any further explanation or clarification, please contact appraisal archivist Colin Reeve (colin.reeve@ncdcr.gov) at the Government Records Section.
The G.S. 132 Files 