A 'public record' is defined as one required by law to be kept, or necessary to be kept in the discharge of a duty imposed by law, or directed by law to serve as a memorial and evidence of something written, said, or done, or a written memorial made by a

A 'public record' is defined as one required by law to be kept, or necessary to be kept in the discharge of a duty imposed by law, or directed by law to serve as a memorial and evidence of something written, said, or done, or a written memorial made by a public officer authorized to perform that function, or a writing filed in a public office. ¶ The elements essential to constitute a public record are, namely, that it be a written memorial, that it be made by a public officer, and that the officer be authorized by law to make it. . . . The two main requirements of a public record are that it shall be accurate and durable. . . . A record is intended not only to give an instrument perpetuity, but also publicity, or to give notice.