There was a very interesting article in today's New York Times -- In Digital Age, Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion.
The core point of the article, and one we find ourselves making over and over again as users wrestle with the DIGITAL LANDFILL in their organizations, is best captured in this quote... This question of the electronic information and long term archiving is one that isn't going away soon.
Countless federal records are being lost to posterity because federal employees, grappling with a staggering growth in electronic records, do not regularly preserve the documents they create on government computers, send by e-mail and post on the Web.
Many federal officials admit to a haphazard approach to preserving e-mail and other electronic records of their work. Indeed, many say they are unsure what materials they are supposed to preserve.
This confusion is causing alarm among historians, archivists, librarians, Congressional investigators and watchdog groups that want to trace the decision-making process and hold federal officials accountable. With the imminent change in administrations, the concern about lost records has become more acute.
What are you doing to make sure that YOUR ORGANIZATION can document accurately WHAT you did, WHO did it, WHEN they did it, and WHY and HOW. And not necessarily in the Perry Mason "AHA!" context of a court disclosure that wins the case. But just in the normal context of day to day business. Most organizations are not managing their electronic information; they are letting it mange them.
A couple of suggestions...
Check out our training programs in Electronic Records Management and E-Mail Management.
Education your bosses by directing them to our "What's in Your Digital Landfill?" slideshow.
This issue of digital preservation typically has three components to it -- hardware, software, and people. At least one part of the issue on the software side is our work on PDF/Archive. We've even put together a training course to help users figure out how to implement PDF/A.
What are you waiting for? A subpoena?
