Public Records and You

As a state employee we are accountable to all the citizens of North Carolina. This idea becomes reality in public record law. “Public records shall mean all documents… regardless of physical form…, made or received in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government….” — in other words, most of what you write must be made available to any NC citizen upon request… it is a matter of public record.

So what does that mean to you? It means that you should always conduct business professionally and with careful consideration. Use discretion in all written communications including email. Legal counsel for the University puts it this way… “Imagine the News and Observer is cced on everything you write.”

Words to live by…

Some important links:

UNC Provost’s Office Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Reports http://provost.unc.edu/policies

UNC Campus Policies and Procedures http://www.unc.edu/campus/policies.html

North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 132: Public Records: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/Statutes/StatutesTOC.pl?Chapter=0132

North Carolina Open Government: Public Records Law http://www.ncopengov.org/publicrecordslaw.html

Guidelines for Public Records from the NC Government Records branch of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/records/guidelines.htm