You have defined the difference between a historian mindset and that of
a RIM practitioner. It is normal to assume that Presidential records
will have a higher archival rate than that of most other functions.
These, like any records with historic content recorded upon any media,
should be identified and notated as "Historic or Archival" on the
retention policy schedules.
I intensely dislike the paper media upon which to record and store
information. :>) LOL
Best regards, Steve
Steven D. Whitaker, CRM
Records Systems Manager; City of Reno
>>> [log in to unmask] 04/05/05 05:44PM >>>
Interesting exchanges, I had no idea hatred played such a big part in
records management, what a revelation! LOL.
Seriously, I don't remember saying keep everything. I'm just looking
at
it from the historian's viewpoint. if you belive in retaining
information based on operation, fiscal, regulatory, legal and historic
values, look at the question in the context in which I raised it. I'm
not asking you to think in terms of Reno's records, my question
centered
on Bob Haldeman, who was the President's chief of staff. The
Presidency
is one of my fields of speciality. And of course I worked for 14
years
at NARA with the Nixon tapes and files. I'm trying to get a sense of
what future historians will have to work with. So, project your
experiences into the highest levels of the executive branch and let's
jump ahead to the present.
Apply your retention values to White House records (in a nonpartisan
sense, regardless of who is Prez). More than 1 or 2% would warrant
retention, obviously. It has been suggested Haldeman's handwritten
annotations would be captured now in emails in White House record
keeping systems. (Remember the Iran Contra information that turned up
in the PROFS system?)
If we were talking about a Leon Panetta or a Andy Card, how would you
be
ensuring that the necessary parts of such people's e-mail records were
preserved now? How about the National Security advisor? Other
Executive Office of the President components?
There are many goals in record keeping. So, consider the one I'm
interested in, the history of governance at the Presidential level.
It's as valid a goal as other ones. And no, you don't get to say it
isn't valid, that would be too easy!! Look at one of Robert Caro's
books. Or Michael Beschloss's. Or Stephen Ambrose's. If you've read
them, think back on the footnotes, the source materials, the richness
of
the narratives they created. Are you confident that their successors
as
Presidential historians will have as rich a record to draw on as they
did, when they were working with those paper records you say you hate?
Maarja
>>> [log in to unmask] 04/05/05 6:36 PM >>>
I do not give a hoot about Bob Haldeman's handwritten annotation.
Sounds like the flawed logic "keep everything just in case!" I do
believe in retaining and disposing of information based upon the tried
and true retention values formula: Operational, Fiscal, Regulatory,
Legal, and Historic. Historic does mean that 1 - 2% of information
with
historic significance, but it must be identified beforehand, during
the
policy development stage.
Best regards, Steve
Steven D. Whitaker, CRM
Records Systems Manager; City of Reno
>>> [log in to unmask] 04/05/05 03:16PM >>>
Just curious. Handwritten annotations humanize many of the older
permanently valuable documents preserved at NARA and add insights for
historians. Do you think Bob Haldeman's handwritten annotation, if
written in an email now, would be kept as long as the document from
Chapin? Would both be available for an exhibit 30 years from now? Or,
as Taylor Branch said (for another reason), will future history be
more
lifeless than it was in the past?
As for "managing more crap." well, if everyone felt that way, how
confident could historians be that the truly necessary information
will
be preserved? I know these are stressful times for records managers,
transitional periods always are. But I've looked at a lot of valuable
"crap" over the decades, glad _someone_ applied the right balancing
tests back then and preserved it, while still getting rid of the stuff
of temporary value, LOL. Well, one reason I started subscribing to
the
List was to learn more about the mindset of records managers and this
debate is a good opportunity to learn!!
Maarja
>>> [log in to unmask] 04/05/05 5:58 PM >>>
>>I assume you mean you find printing out electronic records to be a
burden. I've found it a help occasionally to have hard copies in the
file.<<
I assume the opposite. I rarely print electronic documents as I would
rather change the flight path of a few electrons than have to manage
more crap.
>>The Haldeman memo wouldn't be as interesting if we didn't have the
handwritten annotation.<<
The question is which is the most interesting, the fact that the
annotation was handwritten or the content of the annotation. I expect
the same comment would be made today if an email rather than a typed
memo was involved.
Bill R
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
|
