July 2, 2010 InFo

REMINDERS
 
2010-2011 RESOURCE DIRECTORY PROOF SHEETS HAVE BEEN E-MAILED – Please check your e-mail for a request from PRISM International to double-check information we have on file for you in our database. This information will be printed in the 2010-2011 Information Management Resource Directory. If you have not received your proof sheet, please contact Wendy Gordon at PRISM International at wendy@prismintl.org.
 
REGISTRATION FOR 2010 JOINT EUROPEAN CONFERENCE IN ATHENS IS OPEN – PRISM International and NAID are once again teaming up to bring you an exciting Joint European Conference Event. The conference will be held at Westin Astir Palace Beach Resort in Athens on September 27-29, 2010. As with past conferences, the breakout sessions will divide by organization (NAID Europe will provide a session track on information destruction issues and PRISM International will offer a track on information management issues.) Members are encouraged to download and share the conference brochure with friends. The conference brochure can be downloaded here:
http://prismintl.org/events/2010/09/joint-european-region-conference
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
PRISM INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY, JULY 5 – The headquarters office will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observation of the U.S. Independence Day Holiday.
 
NEARLY 1,600 NOW A PART OF THE PRISM COMMUNITY – Following the recently concluded training session the number of participants on the PRISM Community continues to grow. Any employee of a PRISM International member can sign up for the community for free. Also, you might be surprised to learn how many resources are available in the resources area of the community. Of special note are the efforts of Cary McGovern (the Fileman) who is posting new resources to the resources area on an almost daily basis. Make sure to login and check it out. You can get to the community at my.prismintl.org.
 
FEATURE
In this edition of InFo, we are reviving an old resource that members may have forgotten about and newer members may be unaware of. In 2002, during the PRISM International Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Provincial Minister of Management Services, Sandy Santori, gave a speech of PRISM International attendees. The speech articulates in a spectacular way, the benefits that outsourcing can bring to government entities. Here is the text of that speech in its entirety:
 
“On behalf of the government of British Columbia and Premier Gordon Campbell, welcome to this conference and, especially, welcome to beautiful British Columbia. 34 countries are represented here today. Welcome to each of you and I hope you take every opportunity to explore this magnificent city and region. I think you’ll find British Columbians are proud and hospitable people.
 
“I note that my remarks are to be followed this morning by Nancy Friedman, the Telephone Doctor. I think we can all recommend a few new patients for her. And I have my fingers crossed that in the next few minutes I don’t use any of her “five forbidden phrases.”
 
“Many of you are old friends. Certainly my government has maintained a long-standing relationship with PRISM and its membership. Indeed, 18 years ago we began to forge a unique relationship with firms that are represented here today. The Ministry of Management Services, my ministry, oversees many of the administrative functions of our provincial government and is responsible for records and data management.
 
“British Columbia has been something of a pioneer in records management in Canada. In 1984 we did the unheard of and took the unprecedented step of contracting with a private firm to store our records and data. You can imagine the stir that caused among archivists across the country. Government records would be trusted to a private company? What could we be thinking? Our records, after all, require the greatest degree of security and protection. And our happy experience has been that, in entrusting our corporate past to private storage, that security and protection has been met. As the first jurisdiction in Canada to outsource record storage we have met with tremendous success saving time, resources and, of course, space.
 
“Here’s the deal: BC Archives, the branch responsible for records management, currently stores 700,000 boxes of records for government ministries, agencies, board and commission and for Crown Corporations with three private firms. That’s a lot of material. The archives branch has a photograph of a long corridor, stacked floor to ceiling with boxes. That one corridor represents about 25,000 boxes. Between the three firms now storing the government’s 700,000 boxes of information there are many such corridors. “And the number keeps growing. About 50,000 new boxes of government records are transferred to the private storage facilities each year. It’s expected, as government reorganizes and, in some areas, downsizes, that the number of records transferred off-site will only increase.
 
“All parties benefit with this arrangement – the government, the storage firms and, ultimately, B.C.’s taxpayers. The three contracts to private storage facilities totaled $2.3 million in the last fiscal year. For every dollar spent to store records in these off-site facilities, it is estimated the government saves four dollars.
 
“A clear win-win.
 
“We’ve put a lot of trust in these firms. They not only care for our government records but for our archival records, as well. So our history is in their vaults. As we move to electronic record storage and e-archive storage, we expect to continue to build on our current relationship. Other jurisdictions have since followed our lead and from tentative beginnings, over the years we’ve refined the relationships. But I want to say that the key to making this work is for both parties – in this case government and the private sector service providers – to understand each other. The firms we deal with understand fully our need for accountability and that our accountabilities are different than those of the private sector. With both parties working to the benefit of all, there’s no reason we can’t grow and expand on the relationship.
 
“Like all of you here and your respective organizations, government is constantly evolving and finding new ways of doing things. It’s the challenge of our times – to try and keep up with change while attempting to keep intact the procedures and processes that work. No one knows that better than the Telephone Doctor. Technology has changed telecommunications incredibly. No sooner is one system installed than the next latest and greatest is on the market. But when something works you build on it. Some ways of working are tried, true and enduring.
 
“We have learned that partnerships can not only work effectively and increase capacity; they can be the foundation of successful and lasting business relationships. Enjoy the conference and enjoy your stay in B.C.”
 
Next Week: Task Groups
 
Contact:
Jim Booth, Editor
V: 919-771-0657
F: 919-771-0457
E: jim@prismintl.org