Inspired to come out of hibernation for THIS!

There was an article in the Washington Times today regarding the recent Presidential Memo calling for improving the manner in which digital records are being managed ( http://goo.gl/Gk88p ) and challenging those in Federal Agencies to address the current manner in which records are managed across the board to come up with recommendations for more effective and efficient methods. I don't know how long the link will remain live, but the article is/was here( http://goo.gl/PZma2 ) :

And here's a snip from the lead in to it:

HUMMEL AND KEMP: Today's digital documents are tomorrow's dinosaurs -
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.

Okay so this is gonna be long, so if you plan to read this, make sure you're comfortable, put a log on the fire, don your Snuggie, pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee, cocoa, or a good stiff drink and read on...

An interesting article, some of it thought provoking, some of it sort of a 'sales pitch'. Turns out this technology they refer to "DOTS" (Digital Optical Technology System) is ACTUALLY a private for profit organization out of Florida... it isn't a "technology" at all.

The recent press has made many assertions that Truman led the way in the past to modernize record keeping, the fact is that Truman asked Hoover to lead an effort to investigate the current methods of managing and creating administrative records in the Federal Government and to head a Commission to recommend improvements. In part, that led to the formation of the GSA and establishment of NARA.... but I digress. I just find it interesting that the Presidential memo has got people rattling Truman's ghost and there hasn't been much said about what he did. Personally, I'd love to hear more.

So back to the article? One comment in the article I think we all agree with is: "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."

However, I think we also all understand that there is no ill-will or intent to NOT DO THIS RIGHT... and one major piece of misinformation being tossed about is the intent of the memo was that all physical forms of records be digitized and subsequently discarded, and that henceforth ALL RECORDS would be managed electronically. NO ONE in the Federal Government, or even in most businesses is that ignorant.

There are some records that it makes absolutely NO SENSE to digitize and there are others that EVEN IF YOU DO digitize them (to make the content more readily accessible by multiple people in disparate locations simultaneously) you would NEVER discard the original source materials, you would simply index them with pointers to their locations and store them in optimal conditions to protect them permanently. DUH!!

So, the article goes on to state: "One of the challenges facing federal workers is that long before the complete set of records is digitized, those workers will be required to start making copies of the records they just created, a process called migration. Then, in a relatively short time, workers will need to make copies of those copies. It's a job never completed, constantly in a state of chaos and confusion, with danger of losing the very data that is supposed to be preserved."

Again, THE COMPLETE "set of records" will NOT be digitized. And yes, migration and sometimes conversion, is an ongoing process and needs to be planned for to avoid technological obsolescence and media degradation, but this is a known fact and a given requirement. Constant care and feeding of a digital repository is always going to be required to ensure persistent access to digital assets throughout their life cycle. Everybody here knows that, and a great number of the people being selected by Federal Agencies to respond to the challenges put forth in the President's memo do as well.

The article continues it's "the sky is falling" tone by further stating: "Traditional digital archiving, as it is understood today, is not secure for the long term. Current methods used, many of which the federal government will consider embracing as part of President Obama's initiative, are time-consuming, extremely unreliable, environmentally unfriendly and expensive."

"As it is understood today..." is ALL WE HAVE- it is clearly known that this is an ever changing world when it comes to technology- formats change, media changes, hardware and software used to access information changes constantly. The trick is first, keeping up with it and second, moving forward with it. And yes, the methods are time consuming and expensive- but I disagree they are "extremely unreliable and environmentally unfriendly".

What is the option? Bury our collective heads in the sand and wait around for someone to develop a fast, cheap, reliable, friendly solution to resolve this problem while the existing digital content continues to rot, decay and become inaccessible? Like the Moon Mission content? Past Census data? And who knows what else that has been lost and not identified as of yet. Enough of the analysis paralysis- the memo isn't calling for knee-jerk reactions, it's calling for Agencies to identify staff to address the issues NOW, and in the following 4 months, for them to begin addressing the challenges they face and concerns regarding existing regulations that keep them from being able to do this efficiently and effectively... and as we all know here as well, 120 days WILL NOT be long enough to develop the laundry list of roadblocks and 'challenges' facing Federal Agencies from complying with the recommendations in the memo.

The two largest hurdles we face are a lack of funding and a cultural change in management thinking about the effort required to change the methods by which records are managed. It was a sweeping change to embrace creating things electronically, including the adoption of email and social media forms, but it has been and may continue to be at a GLACIAL PACE that management comprehends the difficulty of putting the lid back on Pandora's Box. And part of how this will happen successfully will be to give consideration to deploying new technologies on a "day forward" basis and then developing plans to address how to deal with Legacy content- in both electronic and physical formats. The concept of consuming this entire elephant in one swallow is ludicrous... but to cage the herd and control that which is still being created is something do-able.

Now HERE'S where the article gets sales-y: "With sufficient magnification, DOTS enables digital files to be stored in an easily readable form for 100-plus years, even in conditions of benign neglect, guaranteeing readability as long as cameras and imaging devices are available. Because it's nonmagnetic, it's also immune from accidental erasure or an electromagnetic pulse."

This is laced with a true 'drink my KoolAid' flavor. The authors want to convince you there is ONE magic technology that exists that will give us the answer to all of our problems! Well, aside from the fact that they say 'digital' in here, when I read this (cameras and imaging devices, non-magnetic, immune from accidental erasure) the first thing that popped into my head was MICROFILM! Or even better yet, NORSAM! ( http://goo.gl/YSWqj ) But when you Google up the acronym and technology they speak of you find out it doesn't exist.. but the COMPANY does!! =) So I'm sure we know where this is going... buy OUR Snake Oil !

And here was one of my FAVORITE lines from the article: "No matter which solution is chosen, it must be one that does not require massive amounts of power and air conditioning, state-of-the-art computer technologies or extensive migration. The solution should not fuel worries about data degradation or failure."

Seriously? I mean SERIOUSLY? (as my good friend and RM colleague Randy Kahn might say) ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Naturally any technology adopted now will require the use of state-of-the-art technologies, because we have nothing from the future and undoubtedly it's going to require migration... we simply need to plan and budget both funds and time for it, and ensure it happens. THAT is how you gain persistent access to digital assets with the technologies that exist presently, and that's the paradigm in which decisions have to be made now.

I don't find any of this fueling worries, instead I find it a calming influence- the consideration that at the highest levels in Government SOMEONE finally understands the need to do something and wants to see us improve upon how we're doing it now.

Lastly, the article poses: "The potential reforms and improvements, while necessary, need to be built around embracing a solution more robust than paper but more reliable than the latest computer."

And I have to wonder what is this? Vaporware? Although one of my other colleagues, Steve Whitaker, doesn't embrace paper, it's pretty doggone robust and reliable, when properly protected... and if the content is indexed well, not too difficult to locate. AND many find it more reliable than the latest computer! But what is proposed here as a 'solution' is something that doesn't exist yet... and choosing something that doesn't exist, doesn't solve anything.

Larry
RIMMAN.LARRY@gmail.com

With that, I wish a Happy Merry Everything to everyone, may you all enjoy time with your families and loved ones and we can continue this (and other) discussions in the New Year.