Dear All,
I saw this article on twitter and I thought it would be of interest. http://govinthelab.com/scott-schneider-government-without-walls/
What is particular interesting is the following quotation.
"Additionally, government officials are more responsive in answering email queries since most issues and questions are seen on a daily basis and can be answered in a form letter which eliminates the need for long, drawn out explanations. The paperless exchange is a proven way to cut administrative expenses, which is making government websites more popular"
What is interesting, though, is how much force the simple handwritten letter has over the ubiquitious email in catching the attention of officers. We are so used to seeing emails that the paper letter carries a greater impact. However, all of the advantages of impact are exchanged for enhanced records managment capacity. There is an automatic record as the email will be on the server, even if the officer deletes it, there is an audit trail to show who did waht to the email, unlike a letter, and also who has been given copies and opened it, again unlike a letter.
I wonder though whether the apparent gain is reduced administrative expenses is offset by the hidden records management costs (filing, storing, retrieving, and managing). All of these have a cost to the organisation that add up over time.
I would be interested if we could have an office or a team within a large organisation go back to paper. What would it look like and what woudl it mean for records management?
I would be interested in your views.
Best,
Lawrence
Lawrence W. Serewicz
Principal Information Management Officer
Assistant Chief Executive's Office
Room 140/4
Durham County Council
Durham
DH1 5UF
Tel 0191-372-8371
________________________________________
From: The UK Records Management mailing list [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Kurilecz [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 5:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Why Should We Save Our Email? « The Signal: Digital Preservation
Why Should We Save Our Email? « The Signal: Digital Preservation
When was the last time you wrote a letter, on paper? Other than my note-to-self stickies (my desk usually has a bunch), or greeting cards, I personally have not written much of substance, just on paper, in a long time.
These days, of course, we are engulfed in the digital versions of note writing – with many different options available. And over the past generation or so, much of our individual correspondence has taken place via e-mail. It’s now ubiquitous and so easy to do it makes you wonder how we ever functioned without it. We write it, maybe file it in a folder in our email program of choice, and then we forget it.
http://bit.ly/qo84jt
Source: http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2011/09/why-should-we-save-our-email/
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Peter Kurilecz CRM CA
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