Hi Jackie,
I don't have comprehensive knowledge of the Records Management software
industry, but one program I have used in the past that would give you the
functionality you want and should be able to grow with you in case records
management needs increase is Versatile. The software is sold by Zasio
(www.zasio.com). They have product levels which should fit your price range
and allow you money for any consulting you might need for migration.
Always remember that there will be differences, usually both good and bad in
any software migration and no product does it all just the way we wish it
did. Contact several vendors, narrow down your selections by a general RFP
process. Then when you have a few vendors targeted, if possible make local
trips to companies who have that company's software running in production.
This is such an important step as it will allow you to see it being used in
real-time plus you'll be able to hear comments from those who work in the
software day to day.
Finally, go over all the details of the contracts to ensure that you know
the behavior expected of each party and ask for everything you need from the
vendor. All they can say is no. If you need assistance with this, contact
your legal department and they should be glad to support you.
Good luck!
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Jackie Cohan
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 11:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Seeking ideas for software replacement
Hi,
I work for the City of Alexandria, Virginia's Archives & Records Center.
We oversee a records management program for all City agencies (about 2,500
employees in all) and also have a small, archival research collection that
is available for public research.
Since the spring of 1996, we have used GAIN for Windows. We have
approximately 17,000 cubic-foot boxes as well as some other materials in a
variety of physical formats. We track the non-permanent records by box.
It works just fine.
For the archival materials, I enter the box, and then under "extended
description," I add each file folder title. That allows for keyword
searching. Since we only have 3-4 patrons search our archival collection
per month, that is working quite well and I don't really see the need for
anything more complicated.
We're looking for a system that tracks boxes, manages destruction,
circulation, requests, etc. There are 4 users here, and we do not want to
allow City employees access beyond searches, if that. We have received
$50,000 for the purchase of a new software program. Can anyone suggest
some programs we can start looking into? We're in the Washington, DC area,
so we'd like to be able to visit users of other systems to see how their's
work.
Thanks!
Jackie Cohan, CA
Records Administrator & Archivist
Archives & Records Center
City of Alexandria, Virginia
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Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
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