> 
> I have always wondered why ARMA was not a part of this or part of a 
> similar partnership that would help businesses or governments with their 
> records before or after a disaster. We know so much about disaster 
> preparedness and business continuity, I don't see any reason why we should 
> not contribute to something similar.

 I would think anyone who spent a stint on the ARMA Board of Directors would 
understand why better than the rest of us.
 There are so many competing demands for support within the Profession, and 
only so much money and volunteer time to go around. Over the past three 
years, more effort has been expended on attempting to decide "how 
International ARMA should be" than most members seem to want to believe. It 
appears we're finally settling into a strong pace on addressing issues such 
as Core Competencies and Visibility of the Profession, areas that the have 
been on the minds of the membership for many years now. 
 While I see value in ARMA making some good faith effort to issue a 
statement similar to that of the ICA/ICBS, it's just that... a statement 
calling upon the US Government, Government of the affected States, and other 
International parties to offer whatever assistance they can to ensure the 
materials and facilities with some historic value are salvaged and protected 
from further degradation.
 ARMA has done quite a bit to ensure materials are available to assist 
organizations and individuals prior to disasters, through offerings in the 
Bookstore, Standards and other publications, numerous IMJ articles and even 
a webinar, along with sessions at Conference, Regional and Chapter training. 
They have also made materials available at no cost on the website on at 
least two occasions that I can recall to assist people in dealing with 
damaged materials.
 While no specific plans have been announced to address post-Katrina 
impacts, it appears that ARMA has joined in supporting the efforts of NARA, 
SAA, SSA and NAGARA from a statement issued by the SAA following a meeting 
last week. 
 I think a lot of this boils down to "there's only so much to go around" and 
while it might seem noble to make a statement urging others to consider 
certain courses of action, it doesn't help much when we all know that 
without some care rendered within 72 hours following exposure, most 
materials become relatively impossible to salvage. 
 It's similar to the comments made following 9/11 about "Why doesn't ARMA 
send people to NY to start collecting all of the paper that's blowing around 
on the ground?" Simply stated, the homeowners can't get into the impacted 
zone... in fact, they're being evacuated. First responders and emergency 
personnel are about the only ones being allowed access to these areas, and I 
don't think that a letter from ARMA to the powers-that-be would allow us to 
dance in there and do anything either. 
 My thoughts alone-
Larry
 ---
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972

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