Why shouldn’t you use CDs as a long term storage medium?

Why shouldn’t you use CDs as a long term storage medium?

Response:

This was a question that was asked by two of my clients over the summer. It reminded me of two articles I wrote in 2004 outlining some of my reservations on using cds for long term data storage and also a recent article; ‘Do Burned CDs have a Short Life Span?’ by John Blau in ‘PC World’, January 10, 2006 issue.

I personally use CDs as a backup media, and I burn CDs for my clients on projects that I have completed. They are backups only as my clients also retain a full set of the paper documents for the project. I do not consider anything I do as having long term retention value for my personal collection and I do not make backups of client records that have a long term retention requirement. But, if I did, two of many things that I consider are:

Media Type:

Compact Disks (CDs) are optical media. Guidelines from different articles PUBLISHED on the subject state THAT CD-R or CD-R/W MAY be used for long term storage with A life expectancy of CD-R between 100 to 200 years under optimum conditions AND CD-R/W should have a life expectancy of 25 years or more under optimum conditions. I recommend reviewing an excellent article by Fred R. Byers on the “Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs, A Guide for Librarians and Archivists”, published by the Council of Library and Information Resources and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, October 2003 www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub121/pub121.pdf ).

Not all CDs are equal or of archival quality. You should also check the archival quality of the media sold by the manufacturer. A Dutch PC-Active magazine did an extensive CD-R quality test on the different CD-R brands and found that some had become completely unreadable (http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/7751 ) within 3 to 7 years.

In a discussion on the subject of standards on the records management listserv one person wrote that “the only standard that may pertain is “ANSI/NAPM IT9.21-199 Life Expectancy of Compact Discs (CD-ROM) – Method for Estimating, based on effect of temperature and relative humidity. I know I do not meet this standard. Do you? Does your vendor? If not, you have one of many problems with storing the information on a CD.

Migration:

Besides the longevity issue another important aspect of maintaining business information on CDs/DVDs is the long term problem with migration. Over the summer I have discussed migration with two individuals who are maintaining and/or contemplating maintaining their business records on optical disks. I asked the question; “How are you planning to manage the migration issue?”. One of the individuals was not aware of the longevity issue, while the other individual was aware and had a migration plan in place to migrate data every 7 years. Neither individual was aware of the article I mentioned above by John Blau, stating that; “Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD”. He further stated “There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a lot more”. If you are working in the public sector I would recommend checking with your State Records Management Department for guidance.

You might also check out the National Archives and Records Administration’s website on optical media at http://www.archives.gov/records_management/index.html, then:
Click Records Management Frequently Asked Questions
Click FAQs About Optical Media

I also recommend that you add this website to your Favorites and save for future reference.

I still advocate using CD’s where appropriate, but I am mindful of the problems and costs that you may incur in the long term. If you are considering a scanning project from paper into an electronic format you need to closely review the project to insure that the cost does not exceed the benefits.

Enjoy….BobDalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

Note: My thanks to Barbara Werelius, Records Manager and public records guru at Tacoma Public Utilities, for her assistance in the development of this article.

Just Starting Out in the Field of Records Management?

A couple of years ago I wrote an article about my recommendations for someone entering the field of records management. I think it is time to revise my recommendations as the profession has changed and there are additional books available that may provide a wealth of information for some just starting out.

If the person asking this question is an ARMA chapter member I direct them to our chapter’s resource library. Our chapter budgets funds to purchase a select number of books each year to add to our library collection. Some of my recommendations include, but are not limited to:

Organize Your Office: A Small Business Survival Guide to Managing Records, Author: Teri Mark, CRM. This is a new book that I picked up at a recent Conference and it would be a good starter book for someone working in the private sector. While it states the book is a survival guide for small business owners with fewer than 20 employees, home-based businesses, and the self-employed; the principles and information provided on organizing business records may be applied to both public and private sectors. It is easy reading and written in non-technical terms.
Sample Forms for Archival and Records Management Programs, Author: ARMA International and Society of American Archivists. For those in public or private sector, this is a great resource that provides some good sample forms and polices that MAY be used and/or customized to meet your requirements. The book comes with camera-ready originals that can be photocopied and a CD with the forms in both Microsoft Word and PDF formats. Some of the information in the book includes:
 Inventorying and Scheduling: Records Inventory, Records Retention ScheduleS, Records Retention Authorization
 Records Centers/Records Control: Records Transfer, Transmittal, Request, and Authorization
 Records Destruction/Disposition
I personally thought the two books by Randolph A. Khan, Esq., and Barclay T. Blair, Information Nation: Seven Keys to Information Management Compliance, 2004 and Information Nation Warrior: Information Management Boot Camp, 2005. Both were worth reading and provided good tips and advice.
The books referenced above represent some of many excellent books on records management that can be purchased from the ARMA bookstore (http://www.arma.org/bookstore/index.cfm).
Another good book that I know is being used at one of the local colleges as a textbook is Information and Image Management, 3rd Edition, 1992, by Ricks, Swafford and Gow. Although the book is dated, the information is still relevant. I note that the book is not available through the ARMA bookstore, but I’m sure you can purchase IT from some Internet store (i.e., Amazon).
Check out your chapter library to see if these books are part of your chapter resources. Our chapter has each of the above books as part of our library collection. I consider the library an excellent resource for our members. Since I order the books for our chapter I get to review each new accession to see if I want to include it in my personal records management library.
Another excellent resource for anyone who is remotely involved in establishing a records management program in their organization is the annual ARMA International conference. I highly recommend attending the ARMA Conference as the programs are excellent. If you are unable to attend the association programs, then attend the vendor show that has about every major RIM provider showing their latest and greatest system.
Finally, take advantage of the local resources of your ARMA chapter by networking at your monthly meetings. Your fellow ARMA members have a wealth of knowledge and resources and are willing to assist and share their information.

Bob Dalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

Note: My thanks to Barbara Werelius, Records Manager and Guru at Tacoma Public Utilities for her assistance in the development of this article and also the Puget Sound Chapter of ARMA.

What are some of the benefits of being a member of ARMA?

Question:

Answer:

I was asked this question by a potential member who is considering joining the association. It is a great question and one I enjoy talking about with anyone within shouting distance. The main benefits gained from membership are: the resources available from the headquarters of the association, networking with peers and the training opportunities that are available through membership in your local chapter of ARMA.

I find that these three resources are provided by the association that help keep me informed on issues and/or topics that assist me in providing better services to my clients. The resources are:
The Annual ARMA International conference provides opportunities from conference educational sessions to visiting the major vendors in the field of records and information management. I particularly enjoy sessions that are oriented towards lessons learned and/or advances IN information management systems. I look forward to attending the conference as it also provides me time to get re-acquainted with friends and meet new people in the association. And as an added plus, it allows me to visit different parts of the country that I have not visited before. I’m looking forward to the next conference in San Antonio, Texas and plan to take a few extra days to see the sites, especially the Alamo, and visit with friends. Check out the conference website: www.arma.org/conference/2006/index.cfm
I’m also thoroughly enjoying the ARMA headquarters web seminars that provide additional training opportunities for not only the beginner, but also more experienced RIM professionals. While I may not always agree with the presenter, it does provide me with different views on the subject and makes me reconsider by perception of the subject. ARMA also retains the seminars in their archives in case you missed the original session plus the question and answer session. Check out the web site for more information at: www.arma.org/learningcenter/webseminars/index.cfm
I also review the offering at the ARMA bookstore (www.arma.org/bookstore/index.cfm) to see what is new. I pass this information along to my clients if they are interested in developing their programs.

I also belong to the Records Management Listserv. While I do not always agree with the person sending the message, I find it stimulating and it really makes me think about some of the topics being presented. It certainly is not a place for the complacent or the one who prefers to follow the “tunnel vision method” of record and information management. I believe the group has over 1500 members from around the world so you get a good view of records management from other perspectives. However, you also sometime get bogged down with the volume of messages, but you may remedy that by taking the digest method of receiving the information. One of the major benefits of the listserv are the weekly records and information management news articles with the internet URLs provided by Peter Kurilecz. The articles really reflect what is going on in the profession, the problems, and new governmental initiatives. To join this listserv send an email message to LISTSERV@LISTS.UFL.EDU and leave the subject line blank (empty). You will get a message back acknowledging your message with additional information on how to manage the program. Another benefit of this listserv is they have a great get together at annual ARMA conference. It is a great chance to meet and put a face to the person sending emails to the listserv and to renew old acquaintances.

At the local chapter I find the programs being provided more than make the chapter dues worthwhile. Our chapter, for example, will have 10 meetings during the ARMA year, (9 evening programs and 2 workshops that cover records and information management training for both the public and private sector members). In addition, the chapter held a seminar in conjunction with our evening program. The chapter meeting provides an excellent opportunity to converse with other in your profession on subjects of personal interest. We also provide a quality newsletter for our membership that has articles of interest to the professional and a website that keeps the membership informed of upcoming events. Visit the website at: www.pugetsoundarma.org

As a chapter we also cooperate closely with two other chapters in the local area for the benefit of our members. We hold joint seminars and maintain a job blog on records and information management positions open in the local area at: http://armajobsnw.blogspot.com/

I want to emphasize that membership in this association has not only helped me increase my knowledge in the field, but has provided me the opportunity to meet and make friends with other professionals who are more than generous in their willingness to assist others in their quest for knowledge in this field of endeavor. This sharing of knowledge and experience is invaluable and well worth the price of admission to a membership in ARMA.

BobDalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

How do you handle duplicate documents/copies discovered during the inventory process

Answer:

This was a question that was asked by a client during a discussion on the management of their records. A great question, and one that that I imagine has plagued the records management professional since the beginning of time. As a consultant I certainly do not have a definitive answer to the problem. However, I do have some insight and suggestions that will probably have people wondering if I have perfected the art of “compromise” or perfected the art of “giving up”.

This is not an easy question to answer as much depends on how the organization manages their records. Here are a few examples of engineering records that I have over the course of years in many organizations I have worked with.

. One organization sent a copy of their purchase orders to accounts payable and retained the
original.

My recommendation to the organization was to send the original document to accounting and retain a copy for internal use. While the accounting director agreed that this would be best business practice, they had not experienced a problem or write up by the State Auditor.

. Drawings maintained at multiple areas within the organization. Which was current?

I believe I have run across this problem at every organization that I had the opportunity to work with as a consultant or as an employee. While the original “as built” drawings were being maintained properly, the maintenance personnel on-site were making changes (redlines) on their copy of the drawings but those changes were not being transferred to original drawings. Staff using those originals would be unaware of those changes.

Ideally, all revisions would be accomplished by creating a new document that reflects the current information and copies then sent to the locations. If this updating was not done and/or they did not have a formal engineering function I had two recommendations to insure that the most current document was available to the organization:

1. Establish a written process and procedure for the management of changes to the engineering drawings. This option relies on the cooperation of the people who are making the changes to insure that all locations are aware of the change to the drawing.

2. If your drawing collection is indexed in an electronic document management system try to indicate the locations that have the drawings.

I currently use Microsoft™ Access for indexing, but it could easily be accomplished in Microsoft™ Excel or Word.

Again, this option also relies on the cooperation of the people making the changes to communicate with the person responsible for managing the drawings.

. Duplicate copies of bid, contract and other engineering project documentation:

There are many times when documents are maintained within the organization for different reasons and copies of the same document may have different retention periods. Also the person responsible for keeping the documents may differ within various organizations. For example; bid and contract documentation may be the responsibility of the purchasing department or law department and disposed of as established by the organizations’ retention program. However, both documents may be considered as part of the engineering project documentation and maybe retained for the life or sale of the property. In this case, the bid and contract documents retained by the purchasing and legal departments may be destroyed earlier as established by the organization retention policy. This is where you must work closely with your attorney and accounting when you assign a retention period to the documents.

When working with clients it is always a game of compromise to hopefully get their cooperation and establish the processes and procedures to manage the records in the long term.

BobDalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

Why do you still remain active in ARMA

Question:

Why do you still remain active in ARMA?

Response:

This question was recently asked by my son during a conversation on retirement. For those of you, who do not know me I have already retired twice, but continue to work as a way to keep my mind active, plus develop my skills and knowledge which in turn provides value to my clients in a profession I enjoy.

Cheryl L. Pederson, CRM, the President of ARMA wrote a great article titled “What’s in it for You?” that recently arrived in my e-mail that listed all the benefits the association provides members. She wrote about the educational opportunities, our annual association conference, networking, friendships, standards and best practices, benchmarking, and unique resources available to association members. She is absolutely correct on stating that these are valuable resources for those who wish to maintain their knowledge base. We owe it to ourselves to take advantage of all the resources available to us to insure that we stay proficient in our chosen profession.

One of the most outstanding programs provided by ARMA, the web seminars, are in my opinion, a real bonus to those of us who do not have the time or resources to attend seminars. While I may not have an immediate need for the type of information the seminar provides, it does increase my understanding of some of the issues brought out by the speaker. The question and answer session after the web seminar provide an opportunity to clarify your understanding directly with the speaker. It is also a bonus to be able to watch the presentation at a time of my convenience.

If I was working in the private and/or public sector I would try to reserve a room to view the presentations as a training session on records management for the staff. For example, one session; “New Rules in Electronic Discovery – and Their Impact upon Records Management”, presented by ARMA International and our own Puget Sound Chapter Member Joan Feldman, Managing Director OF Navigant Consulting Discovery Services Practice Group in Seattle, would be ideal for Information Management and the Legal Department staff. Another session; “Put the Cart Before the Horse: Why records management needs should play a larger role in defining and selecting enterprise content management systems”, presented by ARMA International and our good friend from British Columbia, Canada, Art Bellis, Director of Sales & Marketing for OmniRIM Solutions Inc. Art provides excellent information on the legal and compliance issues on why the records management should be involved in selecting an enterprise content management system.

Remember that the sessions are free as one of the benefits from your membership in the association. You may sign up for the seminars at http://www.arma.org/learningcenter/webseminars/index.cfm . The seminars are also maintained in the archives and available at the same website. Do take advantage of this educational opportunity!

Education is one of the keys to being successful in our profession. Note that our Great Northwest Region Coordinator, Fran Blaylock, wrote an excellent article on “Resilience, the Stepping Stone to a stronger ARMA and RIM Profession” that will appear in the March 2006 newsletters in our region. One statement she makes stood out to me; “Education is the key to staying resilient and prepared to take on any challenge”. Local chapter educational programs provides a forum to gain valuable knowledge of the records and information management field. In addition, the chapter meeting offers the attendees the opportunity to network and share information with others in our profession.

I encourage each and every one to take advantage of your membership and utilize the educational opportunities offered by ARMA International and your local chapter.

BobDalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

Note: My thanks to Barbara Werelius, Records Manager and Guru at Tacoma Public Utilities, and the Puget Sound Chapter of ARMA for her assistance in the development of this article.

Cleanup or Annual Review

“Ask the CRM” - Bob Dalton, CRM

Question:

Do you have any tips on doing an agency-wide or company -wide records cleanup or annual review?

Question was recently asked by an administrator during a review of their department’s filing system.

Response:

This question has been near and dear to my heart throughout my career in records management. I was probably thinking back to the good old days when I was in another occupation and could go to my trusty manuals and follow a well-organized system that was used to manage military records. With few exceptions, we knew exactly what was required to be destroyed, stored, shipped and/or moved by following the instructions. We boxed up files for transfer to storage; created a new file list and file folders for the records we would use in the coming year and destroyed records that were due for destruction. No ifs ands or buts’; we just did it. Our authority to destroy records was in the procedures manual and we were expected to comply. No begging, pleading, or bargaining with employees who only want to have the records reviewed and destroyed one day after they retire!

Then I moved on into the public sector in records management and I felt like I had stepped back into the Stone Age of document management. While an organization may have a good records management program on paper, with all the proper policies and procedures, there has been one constant; the lack of consistent review of records past their retention period. I am sure that many of you can relate to this problem. As I have stated in previous articles, this is not unique to any one organization, private or public. Without a systematic approach and someone assigned to manage the program this problem is inevitable.

Here are a few things that I have found that work effectively with any records review:

 If you have a records management database, create a listing of records that are due for destruction for each client. Annotate those that may be over- due for review. If you suspect an error in the retention period, write a comment on the index that the record may require additional retention.
 As Ellie’s father said in the movie ‘Contact’; “Small steps Ellie, small steps”. The same goes with a records cleanup. If you cannot get an approval of destruction for a large amount of files or boxes, arrange to review them in small amounts. You will have a better chance of getting the cooperation of the reviewer if they are not overwhelmed by the task. The smaller the amount of records the client has to review the better.
 Try to secure a dedicated room to store and review the records so the client does not have clutter in his/her area. You probably already have the clutter in your own office!! If you have a collection if you have a collection of records off-site at a commercial records center you may be able to arrange a room to view the records at their site. Remember to check what or if the vendor charges to use their room.
 Try to have the client set aside specific time during the work day for review and management of their records. Emphasize the importance of time management.
 If the actual owner of the records cannot or refuses to complete the review, see if the owner or person with the authority to approve the destruction would be willing to have someone else who is knowledgeable perform the task. If you have a large volume of boxes due for destruction, select the easiest and smallest collection for the initial review.
 Try to secure a champion from upper management who will help promote an annual records review program so that is becomes a requirement, not an option.
 Review all boxes in storage to insure that they have an appropriate retention period. Establish and create your destruction notices based on the correct and updated information. Once you have destroyed the backlog, the annual review should become much easier if done on a regular basis.
 If you have an onsite records center and/or special areas to store records, do not let them become a dumping ground for non-records. Insist on control of the environment to insure the protection of the records from unauthorized use and review. Lack of environmental controls is a risky business. I have taken photographs of poorly managed storage areas and used them successfully in presentations to management to emphasize potential risk to their organizations.

The cleanup process is probably one of the more stressful parts of a records managers duties. However, when you have completed the cleanup of the backlog you should feel satisfaction for successfully accomplishing the task.

BobDalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

Note: My thanks to Barbara Werelius, Records Manager and Guru at Tacoma Public Utilities, and the Puget Sound Chapter of ARMA for her assistance in the development of this article. Other articles by Mr. Dalton can be reviewed and copied at his BLOG site: askthecrm.blogspot.com