Not since the Truman administration more than 60 years ago has a U.S. president decided to overhaul how the federal government manages its records.
But according to records management experts, newly emerging technologies will likely be needed in order for agencies to meet the president’s policy goals. Keep reading →
When it comes to big data and high public demand, the cloud can be a federal agency’s salvation.
That’s what the National Archives and Records Administration learned during the recent and long-anticipated 1940 census launch — the largest-ever release of publicly available data in the federal government. Keep reading →
A cloud environment came to the rescue to expand capacity and speed up access for the National Archives and Records Administration this week as part of a contingency plan that can be used by any federal agency anticipating a big demand for huge amounts of data from the IRS to the Department of Agriculture.
This incident, spawned by the 1940 Census records release online April 2, underscores the importance and flexibility of cloud computing. Keep reading →
With the stroke of a pen, the Obama administration has ushered the federal government into the Digital Age. On November 28, the President issued a memorandum mandating new rules, procedures, and deadlines for overhauling the government’s record management system, kick-starting the federal government’s transition to a digitized recordkeeping environment.
In what the memorandum describes as “a 21st-century framework for the management of Government records,” 480 federal agencies will be required to begin the migration to electronic recordkeeping, creating better management systems for emails, social media, and cloud-based information.
President Obama expects the effort to start immediately. The memorandum gives agency heads 120 days to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) detailing their plan to improve records management. The OMB will then have 120 days to review the plans and issue specific steps that each agency must take to reform recordkeeping. Keep reading →
President Obama ordered federal agencies to begin creating records management systems designed for the 21st century, taking advantage of available digital technologies while protecting the public’s right to information about the actions and decisions of federal agencies.
The White House described the steps outlined in the order as the “most significant…since the Truman Administration to improve the management of federal records.” Keep reading →