SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

May 3, 2011 by Gary Price

Archivist of U.S. Talks to Congress About "Recipe for Lost Docs" & Preserving Social Media From White House Staff

May 3, 2011 by Gary Price

UPDATE 2: Video of Hearing (Runs About 90 Minutes) (via YouTube)

UPDATE: Prepared Testimony By Mr. Ferriero and Brook Colangelo

From Tech Insider:

A current law that gives federal agencies 30 years to turn over all the records that must be permanently retained by the National Archives is a recipe for lost documents and a spotty historical record, the government’s chief archivist told lawmakers Tuesday.

That 30-year window may have been appropriate in a paper era when the only danger to documents came from floods and fires. But in an electronic age, any method of record storage is likely to be obsolete by the time the National Archives gets hold of the records stored on it, Archivist David Ferriero told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

[Clip]

Ferreiro said only about half a dozen agencies now voluntarily turn over their records early. He recommended a president’s time in office, either a single or a double term, as a reasonable lag time for records to be turned over.

From the Washington Post:

The nation’s archivist said Tuesday he’s uncomfortable with allowing White House staff members to decide whether their tweets, emails and Facebook messages from personal accounts are work-related and must be saved.

David Ferriero, archivist of the United States, told a House hearing that official communications sent from a presidential employee’s personal device, using personal accounts, must be preserved under the law. However, a staff member gets to determine what is official.

Brook Colangelo, the Obama administration’s chief information officer, said there’s no way to automatically capture communications from personal accounts unless they are accessed through a government-issued computer or personal device, such as an iPad or BlackBerry. He said the administration relies on periodic training to help employees make the right decision.

Asked by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., whether he was comfortable with a voluntary system replied, “Any time there is human intervention, then I’m not comfortable.”

The White House automatically captures and retains all communications sent to and from government computers and government-issued personal devices. But only the president and vice president can determine which White House records must be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration when the administration ends.

Holding up an iPad, Issa — chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — told the White House’s Colangelo: “People carry a product that circumvents your entire system” of preserving records.

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Journal Articles, News, Video Recordings

SHARE:

ArchivesDavid FerrieroDigital PreservationGovernmentLegalNARAPreservationSocial MediaWhite House

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

New IMLS Releases Research Brief: Access to Public Library Services and Materials During the First Nine Months of...

From IMLS: The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today the release of a research brief on the public library response to community needs during the first 9 months ...

Video: Poet and Author Amanda Gorman Joins "CBS Mornings" For Her First Interview Since Her Poem And Book,...

From CBS News (via YouTube): Poet and author Amanda Gorman joins “CBS Mornings” for her first interview since her poem and book, “The Hill We Climb,” was restricted by a ...

GPO and NOAA Partner to Increase Permanent Public Access to NOAA Publications

From a Joint Announcement: U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Central Library is working to add more than 47,000 unique items ...

Scholarly Communication: "Why Nature Will Not Allow the Use of Generative AI in Images and Video"

From a Nature Editorial: Why are we disallowing the use of generative AI in visual content? Ultimately, it is a question of integrity. The process of publishing — as far ...

NSF Releases Public Access Plan 2.0; NISO Welcomes New Board Members; & More News Headlines

AI For Drug Discovery: Digital Science Fully Acquires OntoChem Congressional Research Service (CRS) Director Under Fire Resigning at Congress’ Research Arm (via BGov) EU Busy with AI Assessing Copyright in ...

New Data From Circana: "Soaring Sales of LGBTQ Fiction Defy Book Bans and Showcase Diversity in Storytelling"

From Circana: Sales of LGBTQ fiction in the U.S. reached an all-time high in the 12 months ending May 2023, according to Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group, increasing by ...

University of Maryland Libraries Acquires Ford’s Theatre Records

From the University of Maryland Libraries: The University of Maryland Libraries is excited to announce the acquisition of Ford’s Theatre records. The Ford’s Theatre records will be archived with Special ...

Are Public Computers In Libraries Becoming Obsolete?; Chicago Sun-Times Introduces a 'Right to Be Forgotten' Policy; & More...

AI Is Used Widely, but Lawmakers Have Set Few Rules (via Stateline) Are Public Computers in Libraries Becoming Obsolete? (via Government Technology) California Expands Partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library ...

World First: Researchers Create CO2 Measurement Tool to Calculate Emissions Caused by Stored Digital Data

From  Loughborough University (via Newswise): By 2025, it is estimated that the global data will surpass 180 zettabytes The amount of digital data is doubling every two years A typical ...

Canada: National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) Launches Its First-Ever Artificial Intelligence Narrated Audiobook

Here’s the Full Text of a NNELS Announcement: Have you noticed an increase in news lately about Artificial Intelligence (AI)? It is certainly a hot topic and something most of ...

Indiana School Librarians Worry New Law Banning 'Obscene' Books Will Harm Their Work and Students; Chicago Sun-Times Introduces...

Bloomsbury: Survival of Publishers Points to AI Prophecy Overkill (via FT, Subs Only) ||| Archived Version Indiana School Librarians Worry New Law Banning ‘Obscene’ Books Will Harm Their Work and ...

Journal Article: "Global Trends in Digital Preservation: Outsourcing Versus In-House Practices"

The article linked below was recently published by the Journal of Librarianship and Information Science (JOLIS). Title Global Trends in Digital Preservation: Outsourcing Versus In-House Practices Authors Rafiq AhmadBacha Khan ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Tweets by infoDOCKET

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2023 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.