Category: Records Storage and Media
Special Media Records
Also known as: Special Media, Special Formats Records
Simply put
Special media records are records held in formats other than conventional paper text documents, such as maps, drawings, aerial and other photographs, motion picture film, sound recordings, and video. Because these formats have distinctive physical and technical characteristics, they often require specialized handling, storage, and preservation. In the United States, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) identifies and manages several categories of such records.
Formal definition
Special media records is a categorical term used in recordkeeping practice, notably by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), to distinguish records whose format, physical carrier, or technical characteristics differ from standard textual paper documents and therefore warrant specialized accessioning, description, storage, and preservation treatment. Per NARA guidance, recognized categories include cartographic records (maps, architectural and engineering drawings, and aerial photography) and motion picture records (film, sound, and video), among other non-textual formats. The classification concerns the nature of the medium and format rather than the record's evidential value; such materials remain records where they meet the properties expected of records, for example, functioning as evidence of activity, consistent with the general characterization of a record as information created, received, and maintained as evidence and as an asset. The specific categories, retention, transfer requirements, and rights treatment of special media records depend on jurisdiction, governing regulation, and organizational policy; the framing described here reflects NARA's context and may not translate directly to other national or institutional regimes.
Why it matters
Special media records present preservation and access challenges that conventional paper records generally do not. Formats such as motion picture film, sound recordings, video, maps, and engineering drawings depend on physical carriers and, in many cases, specific playback or reproduction technology that can degrade or become obsolete over time. Treating these materials as though they were ordinary textual documents risks loss of the evidential and informational value they carry, because their content is often inseparable from the characteristics of the medium itself. Recognizing them as a distinct category is what allows organizations to apply the specialized handling, storage, and preservation treatment these formats typically require.
Who it's relevant to
Records Managers and Archivists
Those responsible for accessioning, describing, and preserving holdings need to recognize when materials fall outside conventional textual formats and require specialized treatment. The categorical distinction helps determine appropriate storage conditions, description practices, and preservation planning for maps, drawings, film, sound, and video.
Digital Preservation Specialists
Because many special media formats depend on carriers and playback technology vulnerable to degradation and obsolescence, preservation specialists play a central role in ensuring that the content, and its evidential value, remains authentic, reliable, and usable over time.
Compliance and Transfer Officers
Where permanent records are transferred to an archival authority, format can affect the media or methods used for transfer. In the NARA context, regulation specifies transfer requirements, so those managing disposition and transfer should account for format-specific rules that vary by jurisdiction and governing regulation.
Information Governance and Rights Managers
Rights treatment can differ by format and jurisdiction; in the United States, for instance, certain categories may be treated as though in the public domain. Governance professionals should confirm the applicable rights, retention, and access terms rather than assuming uniform treatment across categories or regimes.
Inside Special Media Records
Non-textual and non-paper formats
Special media records typically encompass records whose primary content is captured in forms other than conventional textual documents, such as photographs, moving images, audio recordings, cartographic materials, architectural and engineering drawings, and certain digital or electronic formats. The exact categories included often depend on organizational policy and, in some cases, national archives guidance.
Format-specific carriers and dependencies
Such records are often bound to particular physical carriers or file formats, and their usability may depend on specialized hardware, software, or playback equipment. This dependency distinguishes them from ordinary textual records and typically raises additional preservation and access considerations.
Record properties across media
Regardless of medium, an item generally qualifies as a record only where it retains the properties commonly associated with records, such as authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability. These properties apply to special media records as they do to textual records, though the methods of demonstrating and maintaining them often differ by format.
Associated metadata and context
Special media records frequently require accompanying metadata to remain intelligible, including descriptive, technical, and contextual information that ties the item to the activity it evidences. Without this context, the evidential value of the record may be diminished.
Lifecycle applicability
Special media records are subject to the same lifecycle stages as other records, including creation or capture, classification, retention, and disposition. Disposition here may involve transfer to an archival institution, permanent preservation, or destruction, depending on retention decisions and applicable requirements.
Common questions
Answers to the questions practitioners most commonly ask about Special Media Records.
Are special media records simply digital files that need different software to open?
Not exactly. The term special media records generally refers to records whose informational content is conveyed through formats other than conventional textual documents, such as photographs, moving images, sound recordings, maps, plans, and certain machine-readable or geospatial materials. While many are now created or held in digital form, the defining characteristic is the nature of the medium and its representational format rather than merely the software required to render it. Some special media records may also exist in physical or analog form. Treating them as ordinary digital documents can lead organizations to overlook the specialized capture, description, and preservation requirements these formats often carry.
Does classifying something as a special media record change whether it qualifies as a record at all?
No. The special media designation describes the format or medium, not the record status. A photograph, audio file, or map is subject to the same criteria that make any item a record, including that it serves as evidence of activity and possesses properties such as authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability. A special media item may be an authoritative record, a copy, a draft, or transitory information depending on its context and role, just as with textual materials. The format influences how the record is managed and preserved, but it does not by itself determine whether the item is a record.
How should special media records be captured and described so they remain usable over time?
In many recordkeeping programs, special media records benefit from capture practices that preserve both the content and the contextual metadata needed to interpret it, since the meaning of an image, recording, or map is often not self-evident from the file alone. Descriptive information such as the circumstances of creation, technical characteristics of the format, and links to related records typically supports later retrieval and interpretation. The specific metadata elements and capture methods depend on organizational policy, the format in question, and any applicable standards or archival guidance.
What preservation challenges are commonly associated with special media records?
Special media records often face heightened risks related to format obsolescence, media degradation, and dependence on specific hardware or software to render the content. Depending on the format, organizations may need to consider migration, normalization to more stable formats, or emulation strategies, along with monitoring of storage conditions for physical or analog carriers. The appropriate approach varies with the medium, the required retention period, and available resources, and is generally guided by organizational preservation policy and relevant technical standards rather than a single fixed method.
How do retention and disposition apply to special media records?
Special media records are typically subject to retention schedules in the same way as other records, with retention periods determined by their function and value rather than their format. It is important to distinguish disposition from destruction, since disposition may include transfer to an archival institution or permanent preservation as well as authorized destruction. Because some special media formats have significant continuing value, they are sometimes more likely to be designated for permanent retention or transfer, though this depends on appraisal decisions, organizational policy, and applicable jurisdictional requirements.
What should organizations consider when providing access to special media records?
Access to special media records often requires attention to both the technical means of rendering the content and any legal or policy constraints on disclosure. Depending on the format, providing access may involve specialized viewing or playback capability, and organizations may need to produce access copies to protect fragile or master versions. Access decisions can also be affected by privacy, freedom of information, and other obligations that differ across jurisdictions and sectors, so the applicable requirements should be assessed against the relevant legal framework and organizational policy.
Common misconceptions
Special media records are not really records and can be managed informally, unlike textual documents.
Where an item serves as evidence of an activity and retains authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability, it is generally a record irrespective of its medium. Special media records typically fall within the same recordkeeping obligations and lifecycle controls as textual records, though the practical methods of control often differ.
Managing special media records is simply a matter of storing the files or physical items safely.
Storage alone is often insufficient. Because these records commonly depend on specific carriers, formats, or playback technology, maintaining their usability over time typically also requires attention to format obsolescence, associated metadata, and preservation strategies. Safe storage addresses only part of the challenge.
Retention and disposition rules for special media records mean the same as archiving or eventual destruction.
Retention is not identical to archiving, and disposition is not synonymous with destruction. For special media records, disposition may include transfer to another custodian or permanent preservation, as well as destruction. The appropriate outcome depends on retention decisions, organizational policy, and, in many cases, jurisdiction and sector.
Best practices
Identify and classify special media records against the same recordkeeping criteria applied to textual records, confirming that items retaining authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability are managed as records rather than treated as informal or transitory material.
Capture and maintain the descriptive, technical, and contextual metadata needed to keep each record intelligible and to preserve its link to the activity it evidences, since many special media formats lose evidential value without this context.
Assess format and carrier dependencies early, monitoring for hardware, software, or playback obsolescence, and plan preservation actions accordingly rather than relying on storage alone.
Apply retention and disposition decisions consistently across the lifecycle, distinguishing transfer and permanent preservation from destruction, and align these decisions with organizational policy and applicable requirements, which typically vary by jurisdiction and sector.
Coordinate with archival or preservation specialists where long-term retention or permanent preservation is indicated, since special media formats often require expertise beyond routine records handling.
Document the controls, formats, and preservation strategies adopted for special media records so that their management remains defensible and their usability can be demonstrated over time.