Dear all,
I write to second Terry Cook's observation. As former Principal
Archivist, Hong Kong, with an earlier career in the management of
recorded information including involvement in British Columbia's
development of access to information/protection of privacy
legislation and transparency in the provision of services to
vulnerable and disenfranchised populations, I can say that it is the
sense that there is a public stirring, more than the specific medium
of communication, that matters.
Snail mail has the advantage of a certain weight as already
described. Email is splendid for ease of demonstrating volume. Phone
calls require human interaction and the very personal sense that
one's staff comes to see the issue differently. Mark Borgan's
observation that a sustained campaign is critical bears notice.
For all the high minded rhetoric that occasionally suggests that
policy makers understand the societal value of preserving recorded
information in archives, it is rare that senior decision makers
understand viscerally that it is impossible to "know" without the
capture and management of contemporaneous records. As the foundation
of knowledge, records enable representation and evaluation of
decisions, their foundation, action to verify and correct effect.
When resources are expended in records management but the resulting
collection is not consciously employed in this way, the value of such
expenditures is not understood, putting the whole continuum at risk.
Sadly, when archivists and records professionals seem in conflict
with each other, the cohesion necessary to influence policy makers
may be lost.
Don't forget to invite records management colleagues to speak up--
they are part of the equation in ensuring archival collections. If
the interests of these professions are at odds in a given
jurisdiction--as they too often are--that's something to note and
tackle, because they should not be. Personally (and professionally) I
have found that when decision makers understand the specific
relevance of records and archives to their own goals and situation,
it can be transforming. Pick those individuals carefully for their
own ability to a) be transformed in their understanding and b)
influence effectively in the right direction.
Best wishes in the campaign.
John James O'Brien, BA, CRM, MALT
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Partner & Managing Director, IRM Strategies
Hong Kong: +852 3101 7359 Bangkok: +66 2 207 2530
http://www.irmstrategies.com
Associate Partner, S4K Research AB
Stockholm, Sweden s4k.com
On assignment in Canada from December 7,2009: +1 250 891 2997
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