Well,

What if we could store an entire year's electronic records, including
emails, on/in something that takes up the physical space of the head of
a
pin?

There is some argument that we are currently "keeping everything". With
redundant undocumented systems, lack of backup controls, improperly
documented migration strategies, etc. all contribute to information
outlasting any retention schedule. Before Larry jumps in, we need to
remember that there are distinctions between records, information and
data. Further there is a difference between record integrity and data
integrity, but then we all know Larry.

And what if we had search/access software that was so powerful and
intuitive
that we could locate the items we needed within seconds...every time!

You mean I can't? Peter says all I need to do is "google it".



And what if...before it was stored each item was auto-converted to PDF
or
some other long term format?

PDF is a long term format? Oh yea, I think I read something about that
in an Adobe brochure. All formats have the same potential for longevity.
Whether they last forever? I'll let you know :)



And what if...before it was converted and stored each item was given a
swag
of compliant metadata (maybe with no user intervention needed)?

Last convention I attended had lots of vendors claiming this. Didn't
seem to come away with any documentation on it but certainly nobody
would stretch the truth, would they?

If (when?) it does become cheap and easy to store everything
forever...will
we still argue for retention/disposal schedules and sentencing/disposal
programs?

This depends on whether the distinctions of the first paragraph exist
now and in the future. Assuming they do exist, The records will need to
be managed through the lifecycle.

A side note: I floated the idea of the eliminating the records series
concept about five years ago at an Archives conference. Go ahead and try
doing that some time.

In my days as an archivist I had many an argument with passionate
researchers and historians who thought it impossible for me or my
colleagues
to make decisions about which 1% (or 5% or 25%) of the government
records I
appraised would be useful for research in 10 years or 50 years or 100
years
because I couldn't possibly predict the future.  My argument was
always..."well of course it would be nice to keep everything but that is
simply physically & financially impossible so we do the best we can".

I was in a room with these folks fifteen years ago as they debated
whether an electronic document could be a record. Possible we should not
look there for out of the box thinking on this topic.


How will an archivist argue with a historian when the above scenario
becomes
a real possibility?

Since when do Archivists and historians have a say in anything. I have
been an Archivist for fifteen years, few listen to me. I hae been a
Records Manager for fifteen years, everyone listens to me (if only to
disagree in North Dakota). It is a business decision and you have named
two groups of folks with a very small voice in that decision


How will a records manager argue with the IT manager that we need a
disposal
program?

With VIGOR!


Or will we finally be able to stop arguing?

The same way folks stopped arguing with the Data Processors, extinction



How's this for a retention and migration nightmare:  the records of the
nuclear waste being shipped to Carlsbad, NM, from Los Alamos lab have a
retention schedule of 10,000 years!  Because that's how long the waste
will be radioactive.

NORSAM has a product. I will let you know if I can read it in 10,000
years.


If the last decade has taught us anything, it is that, just because we
can do something does not mean we should. IT folks led the way, and
business followed. Now our pay scale has jumped at the top end from
$60,000 to $125,000 just to fix the problem.

Chris Flynn

P.S. a person sent me this

Subject: North Dakota News Bulletin


(For those of you who are not aware, North Dakota and southwestern
Montana got hit with their first blizzard of the season a couple of
weeks ago)

This text is from county emergency manager out in the western part of
North Dakota state after the storm.

  Amusing...

                                                 WEATHER BULLETIN

Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from  a Historic event
--- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with
a historic blizzard  of up to 24" inches of snow  and winds to 50 MPH
that broke trees in half, stranded hundreds of motorists  in lethal snow
banks, closed all roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to
10's of thousands.
George Bush did not come....
FEMA staged nothing....
No one howled for the government...
No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
No news anchors moved in.

We just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of
snow engulfed cars, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or
Aladdin lamps and put on an extra layer of clothes.

Even though a  Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this
early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

Everybody is fine.

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