Hugh, thanks for the informative response. Just so you know, we don't
utilize pallets as anything beyond temporary storage - usually for
storage prior to destruction. We also shrink wrap our pallets. 

In response to your usage question, we have had stable numbers in record
actions now for over 10 years. My expectation is that we will begin to
see this drop over the next 5 years, but I have made that prediction
before and have been proven wrong. Inevitably, a different customer
starts to fill the void created by one who has reduced usage. Right now,
we are seeing a drop in usage amongst a few major customers, but are
seeing an increase amongst many smaller customers. In fact, we have just
gone through a year and a half of the highest overall usage rates we
have ever experienced in the past 20 years, primarily in accessioning
and destruction, creating concerns about work loads and staff
utilization. That is only now returning to normal.

My own personal belief is that use of paper has remained the preferred
method for longer term, inactive storage, regardless of how the
information was originally created, particularly for organizations which
have not had the resources to convert to fully electronic systems. What
is most common are electronic structured data systems backed up by paper
document systems. Failure to go paperless is due to the continued high
cost and complexity of implementation, the failure of many of these
systems to operate as effective records keeping systems, and the
instability of IT organizations (creating problems with organizational
IT architecture). I think you will start to see this change in larger
urban counties in the areas of public health (already occurring, with
the support of federal resources) and - I hope - criminal justice, where
I think such implementations would be particularly valuable due to the
need for intensive cross jurisdictional sharing. 

One of the notable similarities of successful implementations in larger
county governments is the existence of common metadata schema and coding
structures, for example, in elections, recording, and increasingly,
public health. What has driven such approaches in these areas is the
need to share with external business partners, for example, title
companies or state elections offices. Such designs allow counties to
plug into already existing infrastructures without having to develop
their own. That not only facilitates sharing (in many cases generating
revenue), and reduces implementation costs, but also simplifies
migration, creating a degree of stability not seen in more customized
applications. That stability is key to success in highly volatile
environments.

Dwight Wallis, CRM
Records Administrator
Multnomah County Fleet, Records, Electronics, Distribution and Stores
(FREDS)
1620 S.E. 190th Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
Phone: (503)988-3741
Fax: (503)988-3754
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