NASCIO Releases Series on Records Management and Digital Preservation

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), which represents the chief information officers (CIOs) of the states, today released the first of a three-part series on records management and digital preservation. The first report in this series is now available.

Electronic records management and digital preservation are necessary disciplines for managing the knowledge assets of the enterprise. Attention to these disciplines must be part of every IT investment decision. The lifecycle of "born digital" is presented with emphasis on the decision making process at each major phase. The series will present the current issues and recommendations for action. This first release in this series deals with the principles of records management, and highlights the most significant challenges facing the states.

"Managing electronic records is really the management of knowledge assets," said Dr. Jim Bryant, CIO, state of South Carolina. This essential resource must receive the proper level of attention in investment and project management decisions. Without proper planning and the necessary partnering with experts from legal, records management, archiving, and enterprise architecture, this asset can expose the enterprise to undue risk -- not only in potential litigation risk, but also the risk of losing valuable enterprise knowledge."

Future releases will deal with the following areas:

• Born Digital
• Off Shoring
• The Economics of Digital Preservation
• The Legalities of Digital Preservation
• Organizational Issues of Records Management Digital Preservation
• Technology Issues
• The Promise is XML
• The Relationship to Enterprise Architecture
• Managing Digital Assets
• The Top Ten List for CIOs

"We're very serious about developing the necessary attention to electronic records management and digital preservation issues," said Steve Fletcher, CIO, state of Utah. "We've begun a series of research reports intended to advise the state CIOs regarding the issues and calls to action. Expect to see more publications and other activities related to the management of this critical resource within state government."