Hi: First I would note that PDF and/or PDF/A is not just an "image" 
standard; it can whole support full text within the file.

>A little background.  Pdf/a is a standard for formatting images for 
>future use.

First, what are your State rules/regs for document conversion?

Personally for short term records I would probably go with a 
PDF.  Its format is more ubiquitous and understandable to the layman 
and when asked for copies, a TIFF would likely be converted to PDF 
for delivery anyhow.  I should note that web browser now render TIFF 
images, however I still think one would need a TIFF  reader for 
something that is multi-page.

You should also be considering what it is that is being scanned: are 
they records an agency receives and/or are they records 
generated/created by the agency?  I have always found it a bit of an 
absurdity with documents we create digitally, that we print them out 
and scan them to make them digitally available, with a much larger 
file size.  Granted there is not much we can do with the incoming 
records, but certainly anything we are creating we should be looking 
at paperless solutions.  The fact one has FileNet is certainly a step 
in the right direction.  Instead of printing to a printer, print to 
PDF (if you do not have this capability certainly look into it) and 
make the document available via FileNet.

PDFs like TIFFs can be secured so they cannot be changed. One caveat 
with printed/distilled PDFs is that the text is completely available 
for searching within the PDF, therefore if one has something to 
redact an image-only version of the PDF may be the more practical.

But back to the initial question about use with short term retention, 
I have always argued that in the short term one should not have 
proprietary/migratory issues with the format.  If these were long 
term records I would recommend PDF/A (and one might consider that 
regardless), but a retention of 5 years or less doesn't really 
require that type of preservation concern.  Once again check with 
what your State requires for the conversion of public records.

Thanks -- Dan Noonan




Daniel W. Noonan, MLS, CDIA+
Electronic Records Manager/Archivist
University Archives
The Ohio State University
600 Ackerman Road, Room 5822
Columbus, OH 43202
614.247.2425
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