Defining Public Records

Chapter 16.61 of the Wisconsin Statutes defines public records as “all books, papers, maps, photographs, films, recordings, or other documentary materials, regardless of their physical form or characteristics, produced or received by any state agency or its officers or employees in connection with the transaction of public business, except the records and correspondence of any member of the state legislature.”

University records thus consist of all documentary materials (including copies) produced or received by any university department, office, or staff member in connection with university business and retained as evidence of university activities because of the information they contain.