In RIM, permanent does mean forever.  That is why we must be very careful when assigning this retention value to records and information.  It means not only that the records truly have historical value, but also that the organization must consider every currently known factor when creating, storing, preserving, and protecting the records so they will be available and readable forever.  Unfortunately, "known factors" change as technology changes and time and experience reveals new factors.  

One of the recent factors to consider is existing and proposed privacy laws at both the federal and state/local level.  For example, records such as student transcripts can no longer be completely accessed if they contain whatever the law currently says must be protected as private (SSN, student ID, birth date, financial information, etc.) - even if the records were created prior to the passage of the law.  So a process must be put in place to redact or cover "private" information as the law defines it.  

For student transcripts, I would also recommend looking at the current Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) to make sure all steps were in place for compliance with access to student's grades.

Ginny Jones 
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI) 
Records Manager 
Information Technology Division 
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities 
Newport News, VA 
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