David,
   
  One place to begin your argument is to count how many boxes of hard copy records your Records Center holds and then determine the annual cost of redundant storage, times the number of years you are required to retain the records. The bottom line is, money talks... especially if you are talking about Public money. 
   
  The Nevada State Library and Archives has a strict policy not to accept hard copy originals of anything scanned for digital or microfilm storage. There is a division that insisted on sending the Records Center their hard copy because they didn't have confidence in their imaged quality. We did not see it as a storage issue as much as a quality control issue. I told them that spending the up-front time on ensuring the reliability of the system buys confidence in the system and reduces the cost to the State for redundant storage of records and on staff time for manual retrieval of hard copy records because they could not read the digital copy. Arg. 
   
  You might review your state statutes on destruction of records after reproduction. Nevada has such a law on it's books, NRS 239.051, unfortunately, it is old and only applies to reproduction of records records onto microfilm and data entry. However, we also have the "Uniform Photographic Copies of Business and Public Records as Evidence Act" (1949) on our books which addresses the admissibility of duplicate records made in the regular course of business by any process which accurately reproduces them, provided the records are satisfactorily identified....NRS 52.247... 
   
  Good luck!
  Teri J. Mark, CPM, CRM
  State Records Manager
  775/684-3323 
Nevada State Library and Archives 
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David Singley <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
  List Members -

I am in a predicament here in Georgia. A number of departments within my county are scanning documents AND maintaining the hardcopy - unfortunately my record center is the recipient of those hardcopy files. I have some support for a policy that will designate the electronic version as the official record and mandate destruction of the hardcopy (or at least not allow it into the county record center). Does anyone have any experience with something like this, particularly in a government environment? 

David Singley
Records Management Officer
Gwinnett County Government, GA
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770-822-7060


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Teri J. Mark, CRM 
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