Drowning in a Sea of Paper Document Archiving with Technology Presented by: Yvonne J. Gilbert Data Management Specialist Chester County IU #24 (610)

Document archiving with technology is the capture, storage, communication, and retrieval of paper-based information in digitized form. Imaged documents can be retrieved on a personal computer through web access with password protection, CDs using WORM technology, and/or DVD disks.

Problems Facing School Districts Now and in the Future  Lack of storage space  Overstuffed filing cabinets  Costly off-site storage facilities  Waste of valuable time and money retrieving misfiled and misplaced documents in and out of the office  Deterioration of stored documents in an uncontrolled environment  Disintegration of microfilm in an uncontrolled climate  Costly replacement of outdated microfilm readers

School districts are required to maintain various records for various years  Business offices are required to keep their finance records for seven years, after which time they may dispose of them; whereas, they must keep payroll records forever.  Personnel departments are required to keep active and inactive personnel files forever.  Student transcripts and Special Education files are kept for 99 years. School districts can elect to keep health records and any other pertinent information they find necessary.

The most popular way of permanently archiving documents is with digitized imaging and records management. Records most likely to be permanently stored (but not limited to) are:  PAYROLL RECORDS  PERSONNEL FILES (Active and Inactive)  STUDENT TRANSCRIPTS  SPECIAL EDUCATION FILES  SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ BOARD MINUTES

School districts can elect to digitize their paper documents themselves. However, this process is very costly and requires trained personnel that are familiar with Records Management and Record Retention Guidelines. Another solution would be for school districts to have an outside vendor convert their paper documents to digitized images.

Things to consider when choosing an outside vendor:  Ask for 3 to 5 customer references that you may contact personally.  Ask what policies and procedures they use (i.e. AIIM Standards). Are they familiar with school district standards and procedures?  Ask for a demonstration.  Get all estimated costs up front for document imaging and any necessary equipment needed for document retrieval, printing, etc.  Ask about their Quality Control procedures. Do they perform random inspection or inspect every image?

How are documents converted to Digitized Images? 1. Documents are purged and prepared for scanning. 2. Documents are scanned into a computer-based software program. 3. Every image should be checked for quality control before being committed to permanent storage. 4. Required indexing is performed per file folder. 5.Indexed files can be stored onto a designated web- access server, CD-ROM, DVD Storage Disk, Magnetic Optical Disk, or a digital tape. 6. A security backup is highly recommended.

You may ask, “Can my school district afford conversion of its paper files?” With unforeseen disasters happening, such as:  Fire  Flood and water damage  Severe storm damage to facility  Shelving deterioration and collapsing of record storage boxes.  Theft How can you afford not to?