of the Roman Catholic Church

Purpose

This policy is another branch of the information management policy. The purpose of the Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records Policy (ROT) is to 1). reduce the number of extraneous or duplicative records saved by employees; 2). improve staff search time; 3). save cost of storage in the cloud; and 4). reduce the risk of making a bad decision based on outdated information. The Diocese of Salt Lake City Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records Policy explains to whom the policy applies, declares who owns ROT, states employees' responsibilities for managing ROT, defines what is a record and what is ROT and describes how to identify ROT.

Scope

This Policy applies to all employees at the Diocesan Curia, Mount Calvary Cemetery, parishes and schools.

Ownership of Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records (ROT)

Because all records are created on Diocesan networks and servers, Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records are owned by the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

Responsibilities

All employees are responsible for managing Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial records.

What is a Record

Before defining what is Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records, a reminder of what a constitutes a record would be helpful. A record is information created, received, owned or maintained by a Diocesan office or department as recorded evidence of daily diocese business. Records are, but not limited to, correspondence, reports, photographs, policies, procedures, other documentary materials regardless of physical forms or characteristics. Records are maintained in accordance with the Diocesan records retention schedule. Records should not be destroyed prior to their date of disposition or, if permanent, transferred to the Archives.

What is Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records (ROT)

• Redundant - duplicate record(s) that live in multiple places.
• Obsolete - records that either have been superseded or are outdated or are past their retention period.
• Trivial - records that have little importance or value. These are records that have been created during daily work activities and do not meet the standards of records.

How To Identify Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records (ROT)

Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial records (ROT) is identified as records that possess the following characteristics:

1. any unsolicited records, such as brochures, catalogs, pamphlets, or correspondence, library materials, such as newsletters, journal, and books purchased or used for general reference rather than to support Diocesan business operations; blank forms, such as reimbursement requests or application for special events, or personal papers, are considered ROT and can be deleted.
2. records that are either past their retention period or have been superseded by another version are considered ROT and can be deleted.
3. records, because of their short-term nature, that have lost all administrative, legal or fiscal value are considered ROT and can be deleted. These transient records include voicemails, mass distribution emails, drafts or untranscribed meeting minutes.

HowToRemove Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial Records (ROT)

Once a record has been identified as Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial, employees should delete the record.

Employees should delete records considered Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial on a regular basis, following the guidelines in this policy as well as the Records Policy and Records Retention Schedule.