continuous custody

an archival principle of added value, holding that the continuous and unbroken retention of any record or set of records in the keeping and for the use of the corporate entity that created the record as a tool to perform work is conducive to trust and confidence in the authenticity, veracity, and reliability of the records (i.e. in their evidential integrity); and that (conversely) breaks in continuous custody cast doubt on the reliability and jeopardize the evidential integrity of any record or set of records. See also material integrity.