This week I attended two Records Management events, one in New York and the other in Washington DC. The two events were very well attended and quite worthwhile. The discussions were lively in both events and I was able to ask questions and get some good solid answers. I came to the events with some goals and I am happy to say that for the most part the goals were achieved. Of the many takeaways, the lesson that sticks out the most is that in the eRecords or the Electronic Records community there really needs to be some clear understanding between records, documents, and the real crucial concern of eDiscovery (or the legal community) Electronically Stored Information or ESI. Here is something that I read from last years conference in New York, and I feel it was emphasized this year as well. "While Records Management has its established rules, electronic information (ESI) management is an entirely new ball of wax. And I don't see that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure made it any less complex. Experts say the rules are vague and remain open to interpretation. As a result, how to handle electronic information is vague and remains open to interpretation". I can not say that I agree with the entire quote, but I mention it because it does highlight a concern that is very real and is growing, and I do not see it going away for a long time. In essence we in the Records Management community have got to be vigilant in our efforts to manage the records to which we are stewards, and this does not stop with paper records, nor does it stop with eRecords but it includes Electronically Stored Information. In fact in our profession it is incumbent upon each of us in the Records Management community to be caretakers of all intellectual assets and be an advocate for good systems to manage all these resources in way that is responsible, reliable, and religiously applied.
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