One organization that is currently grappling with the email management issues is my home county – Travis County, Texas.  Two of the county’s public servants – Steve Broberg, Director of the County’s Records Management and Communications Resource Department, and Shawn Malone, the Records Services Supervisor for that Department are actively seeking external input as they approach their decisions on how to manage the ongoing deluge of record and non-record information that appears in the County’s email system. 

As those of you who are so inclined to review their situation, their white paper and direction at this site , you can feel free to provide some of your input.  Remember, as a County government, Steve and Shawn work in an environment that differs substantially from that found in the private sector.  They must find a solution that works for elected officials, whose mandate is often at the level of the state constitution, for a number of disparate and independent departments, while serving the needs of : transparency, public access and accountability for taxpayer provided funding. 

I find the approach to seeking additional input to be refreshing, and some of you who see the video and who read through the documentation may recognize some of the challenges that you face as well.

The management of paper-based active filing systems has been the subject of numerous books, articles and recommendations over a period of a number of decades.  One starting point to which I would refer those seeking to establish such filing systems would be the ISO Standard entitled “Establishing Alphabetic, Numeric and Subject Filing Systems.  What better place is there to begin than through the use of a standard recognized by ANSI?  Here is a link to that publication within the ARMA International Bookstore for convenience purposes.

In managing inactive records storage facilities, there are a number of excellent sources.  Those sources can provide guidance for Records and Information Managers seeking to evaluate their storage options and those seeking to operate such facilities, based on ISO standards.  First, I would point to another association, the Professional Records & Information Services Management Association (PRISM).  Members typically include those storage organizations that provide outsourced storage of inactive records, vault storage for electronic records, and sometimes offer services including secured destruction management.  PRISM’s “Facility Evaluation Checklist” is readily available on the PRISM web site at the location contained within this link .  Additional resources are available through the ARMA International web site, including the Records Center Operations – A Guideline and the Guideline for Evaluating Offsite Records Storage Facilities .

Finally, we do know that the destruction of records has become a hotter topic, as statutes that are designed to protect individuals from identity theft have come to the fore and as private sector firms place increased emphasis on the protection of their intellectual property.  Fortunately, there is a group to which many organizations belong that focuses its attention on ensuring that its members adhere to some commonly approved practices to ensure that the destruction of records is properly secured.  The National Association for Information Destruction, Inc. (NAID®) has information readily available to those who are Records and Information Managers about those firms that are “certified members” and information regarding the NAID® Certification Program.

Hopefully the above sources will prove helpful to those who stumble across or who check this blog!