I have noticed recently in a change in attitudes within the Government
IT Managers for managing the lifecycle of data.  Being part of an
aggressive E-Gov initiative changes your views on new technologies
rather than being out-side looking in at the new toys.  Based upon the
many challenges of rolling out new toys and Business Process
Re-engineering many IT managers begin to fantasize how beautiful and
simple a previous life was with paper, microfilm, and ascii data format.
:)  The latest E-Gov slogan that is growing in popularity is "Paper,
microfilm and Ascii is always King".  Being a converted programmer from
college to the Records Management profession, I find myself torn between
new and better technology and what works.


Bill Fellers

Department of Interior

Minerals Management Service

281-873-1830 Houston Office

985-373-8941 Cell 

504-736-2520 GOMR Office

504-739-1362 E-Gov PMO Office

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Date:    Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:53:39 -0500
From:    "Allen, Doug" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: A Lesson in Records Management

If only we could ensure that storage on a CD would be sufficient.  Bill,
I've seen and heard enough about potential data loss on CDs to be a bit
reluctant to trust CD as a medium.    While I'm not necessarily "wedded"
to
microfilm use, it makes sense to use microfilm for those records that
require very long-term storage (property records, vital statistics
records, etc.), and for use primarily as a fail-safe backup.  

When it comes to electronic records in any medium, I think we need to
acknowledge that we live in an era of changing technologies where it is
very likely that we will need to be prepared to migrate from one medium
to another over a period of time.  

My view is that there is not a "magic" medium that has a guarantee of
future use and retrievability...... It's one more item that we must be
prepared to manage.

Douglas P. Allen, CRM, CDIA+
Business Development Manager
Global 360 BGS
3103 Sasparilla Cove
Austin, TX 78748
email: [log in to unmask]
cell phone: (512) 791-8027
fax: (512) 597-0669

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