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Records Management: Huge Task in Preserving National Records
The National Archives, long-term preservationists of important US historical documents and records, often serves as an example for industry and organizations for how best to manage and archive documents and records. So it comes as a bit of an embarrassment that a recent audit has found that there are numerous items of important historical significance that have gone missing and that many items in the collection are in danger of being lost to deterioration.
The National Archives manages 44 facilities in 20 states as well as 12 presidential libraries.
Items identified that are missing from the National Archives collection include the original Wright Brothers Flying Machine patent, maps of flight plans related to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, Eli Whitney cotton gin patent, and lost computer disks of records from the Clinton presidency. The audit found significant deficiencies in how security at the National Archives has been handled. The report then details as many as 213 recommendations for improvements that could be made at the National Archives.
The report also found that many agencies are not properly disposing of their records. As many as 80 percent of federal government agencies may be at risk of illegally destroying records that should be getting marked for permanent archival. The National Archives themselves have a backlog of work to accept and preserve incoming records. 65 percent of the items already managed by the National Archives, most of which are paper, are also considered as needing additional work for preservation. That is the equivalent of two million cubic feet of paper records needing special care.
