Joseph,
I see two different issues here.  One is whether your electronic records can take the place of your paper records.  The other is whether you can repurpose some of the things in your project file for other projects.

On the first issue - if you are doing work for ODOT, I believe that the state engineer is now accepting electronic as constructed plans and load ratings.  You should work with your contracting partner to find out if they will accept the electronic version as the official record.

On the second issue - you might have a library - even an electronic one - that maintains reference material that can be repurposed.  This often happens in engineering firms as a common practice.  Keeping a schematic or design that worked well on one project can save you a myriad of time on a new project.  How it is maintained so that it can be repurposed needs to be carefully planned - do you still own the intellectual property aspect of the drawing?  If not, you might not be able to repurpose without the permission of the owner of the property.

Laurie Sletten, CRM, CA
Records Manager
Information Technology Services
University of California - Office of the President
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Phone: (510) 987-9411
UC-Wide Records Management 
UC-Office of the President Records Retention Management
http://recordsretention.ucop.edu/ 

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