Code of Maine Rules › 29 - DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE › 255 - MAINE STATE ARCHIVES › Chapter 3 - IMAGING STATE RECORDS › Section 255-3-7 - DOCUMENT PREPARATION

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
The integrity of the original records authorized for imaging
				  shall be maintained by ensuring that the images are adequate substitutes for
				  the original records and serve the purposes for which such records are created
				  or maintained. The following measures and any others found necessary shall be
				  observed in any State imaging project to insure preservation of the integrity
				  of the records:
All documents will be appropriately prepared (through the
				  removal of paper clips and staples, flattening, mending, etc.) prior to
				  imaging, either by the state agency or by a qualified third-party. Any page
				  with an attached note on its must have the attached note removed from the page
				  prior to imaging and placed on a clean, blank page and digitized separately,
				  unless the attached notes have been designated as non-records, in which case
				  these may be discarded.
Obsolete records and non-records may be removed from files
				  during document preparation. Staff of the state agency will conduct this work,
				  unless the instructions for identifying obsolete records are completely
				  objective and the ability of a third party to follow these instructions can be
				  verified by staff prior to imaging. If the percentage of obsolete records or
				  non-records is low, the effort of weeding will likely not be worth the cost.
Multi-part forms and continuous-feed computer paper must be
				  separated into single pages. If there are multi-part forms included within the
				  file, then the parts must be separated. In cases where such forms repeat the
				  information on each page, only the highest quality page will be digitized (such
				  as the top or white copy of the form). Other pages of such multi-part forms
				  will not be digitized.
Fagile items or items that are torn, otherwise damaged, or on
				  delicate backing (such as onionskin paper or glass) must be handled with care
				  to avoid further damage or even destruction. If these items are interspersed
				  within a body of records, they must be separated from the other items within a
				  folder that marks them as fragile, and the entity conducting the imaging must
				  be provided with instructions on how to handle these documents carefully. If
				  entire boxes of records are fragile, these boxes must be marked as
				  fragile.
Before imaging documents, the state agency or alternatively
				  the vendor chosen to conduct the imaging, will produce an inventory of the
				  documents that records the type of documents (paper,volumes, photographic paper
				  prints, diapositive slides, glass plate negatives, drawings, etc), general
				  characteristics (size, paper color, number of pages, the presence or absence of
				  staples or other fasteners, etc.), and general document quality (undamaged
				  documents, torn documents, onionskin paper, blurry images, or other damage) for
				  the set of records as a whole. This inventory will allow for an assessment of
				  the difficulty of imaging the documents.
Test images of the digital documents intended to be digitized
				  must be created prior to wholesale conversion to ensure quality images can be
				  produced. The number of test images produced will be governed by variations in
				  the source documents. If the records vary widely by age, type , color, or
				  condition, or if they have been produced at various times by various entities
				  in the case of microfilm, test digital images must be made of samples of each
				  set of similar documents.