Letter to the editor
Your editorial on e-records management in the Aug. 26 issue ["Head back to drawing board"] does not clearly communicate the new directions
that the National Archives and Records Administration is considering in
our draft proposal for a redesign of federal records management.
Our intent is for NARA to be a strong advocate for records management
and be much more proactive in working with agencies in managing federal
information. We already are doing this through our work in the Office of
Management and Budget's e-government initiatives, CIO Council sponsored
committees and briefings with high-level government staff and agency heads.
Records management is critically important and necessary to the business
needs of agencies and to the rights and interests of the government and
the public, and we will continue to make that point at every opportunity.
Equally important, we intend to use our statutory responsibilities for
oversight to expand our inspections and evaluations of agency records management
practices and to report the results of these evaluations to OMB and Congress.
We also will recognize and commend good records management practices and
help agencies to correct problems that we identify.
Our policies and procedures must add value to agency business processes
to ensure that records are managed effectively for as long as they are needed,
and that records of continuing value are preserved and made available for
future generations. Thank you for recognizing the importance of these issues
in Federal Computer Week.
Lewis Bellardo
Deputy archivist of the United States