President Barack Obama released a landmark memorandum in late November requiring federal government agencies to devise a plan within the next four months for the digitization of government records. Eventually, the president would like to see the U.S. government focus almost exclusively on electronic records – a shift that has major implications for the future of government records management.
However, information management experts Rob Hummel and Jimmy Kemp, in a recent report for the Washington Times, said the transition is much easier said than done and won’t be without major challenges.
“While the move from filing cabinets and paper to a form of digital preservation is important and necessary, it is much more complex than it sounds. The initiative, if it is not done right, could unintentionally be a hugely wasteful spending exercise, and vital information, records and assets could be lost forever,” Hummel and Kemp asserted.
According to the memorandum, the digitization of records is needed to cut the costs of the government’s records management program while also working to promote efficiency and streamline its practices of storing and accessing information.
Currently, however, the government is heavily reliant on paper records, and produces millions of pages on a daily basis. In addition to the expense and time it will take to migrate them to a digital format, it will also be difficult to completely change the paper-focused culture.
For that reason, it’s important that agencies don’t lose sight of paper records management. The processes will remain necessary until the day the full scope of Obama’s memorandum can be realized.
Further compounding the issue, according to Hummel and Kemp, is the fact that technological innovation today moves too fast. By the time all the government’s records are digitized, it’s conceivable that a new technology will have burst on the scene and further migration is needed.
“Effectively preserving federal records and archives for future generations requires accepting the fact that technology will continue to change how the world operates quicker than society can keep up,” the experts wrote.
Hummel and Kemp acknowledged that paper has proven to be the most robust medium in terms of the preservation of records and information. The answer is an intelligent approach to digitization where smart decisions are made on what to digitize for quick access via an electronic format and those paper files that can remain in paper format since they have low accessibility requirements. This method will meet the government’s need to transition to electronic records without unnecessary cost or complexity.
Related Links:
- Managing Government Records: I’ve Identified My Vital Records, Now What?
- Managing Government Records: Vital Records are Vital
- Federal Mandate: Presidential Memorandum – Managing Government Records
- Ten Steps to Cost-Effective Government Information Management
- How Long is Long Enough: Records Retention and Your Agency
