Steve, I consider you a friend, a mentor and respect you a lot.  But I
have to disagree with your on this topic.

> I disagree with a certain amount of what Don stated, and with his
> conclusions.  It sounded like a partisan political position paper at many
> places.
I re-read Don's post and came away with a different conclusion.  What
he and many of us are saying is that ARMA has abandoned the records
and information management (RIM) profession.  With it many of us who
work as records and information managers and love our field.

So the question is who represents us now?  We aren't going away any
time soon.  The ICRM's  membership continues to grow.(note I serve as
the Webmaster for the Institute).  I see a number of seeking records
managers, especially CRM's.  The salaries for qualified records
managers have been rising over the past three or four years, maybe not
at the level of our IT brethren but, getting up there.  The demand for
and attendance at CRM preparatory sessions is higher than ever.

I am betting that we'll see more opportunities for RM professionals as
the regulatory burden coming from Washington and the states increase.
I know in my industry the recordkeeping requirements continues to
expand and if you listen to the candidates running for office things
will only get worse.  Some of the RIM articles PK posts include
instances where an organization failed to follow basic RIM principles.
Just ask Larry about PG&E.  IG wasn't the issue; records management
was.

> I have not the inclination to spend a lot of time defining what IG is and
> where RIM fits in; and RIM is a part of IG, which is much larger.  Do your
> research folks, instead of ranting and raving and trying to avoid change....
I've researched the definition.  You can get a different answer
depending who is promoting it.  Even on this forum I have seen various
definitions and flavors of IG.  Even the IG gurus can't seem to agree
on a clear definition. Reminds me the saying "ask 10 economists to
define the economy and you will get 10 different responses."

> ARMA and the RIM profession in general really missed the boat with
> electronic information management..., as a  result IT/IS got the budget
> dollars and the influence; and the larger salaries; that has been going on
> for a generation or so now.
I agree with you on both ARMA and SOME in the RIM profession.  But
don't throw many of us who are in the front lines in that bucket.
Larry, Hugh, Stephen and others have constantly bring up the need for
record and information managers to get involved in electronic records
and information management.  Hugh has pointed out a number
opportunities for partnering with IT.  His humor can be a little off
center and at times he pushes the envelop but in many cases what he
says is spot on,

From my own personal experience most IT folks want to focus on
supporting the infrastructure, deploying applications, managing DR and
securing the networks.  They jumped into electronic records because of
a vacuum that needed to be filled and, in the case of my employer,
they don't want it.  That is where RIMers like many of us in the field
can help.

> IG is NOT a temporary, 'flavor of the month' thing like strategic
> information management, knowledge management, or content management; to
> mention just a few.  IG is the real thing; jump on and in or fade away into
> irrelevancy.... ; it is your prerogative.   ARMA may not have defined nor
> sold it very well.  Nevertheless.., it is real and it is here.
Well you can throw me in that group that won't be jumping on the boat.
I have approximately seven more years until I plan to retire and even
longer if my wife has her way.  I am betting you'll find others like
me - we aren't going away or fading into obscurity any time soon.

My thoughts are my own and not that of the ICRM or any other group.

Bruce White, CRM, PMP
Radnor, PA
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/bblanco

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]