Wednesday, March 21, 2012

NARA seeks your input

Last November, President Obama issued a memorandum that marked the start of a sweeping effort to reform federal records management practices. Among other things, the memorandum directs the U.S. National Archives and Records Adminstration (NARA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to consult with individuals and organizations -- government and non-government alike -- who have an interest in improving the management of federal government records and increasing government openness.

NARA, which particularly interested in ideas that will promote government openness, use records and information to enhance federal agency performance, and reduce unnecessary costs and burdens, is fulfilling this requirement in a variety of ways. It's hosting public meetings and has created a Managing Government Records IdeaScale community that enables archivists, records managers, vendors, and anyone else who cares to do so to offer their suggestions, read suggestions advanced by others, and comment and vote up or down on each suggestion. You'll need to create a free IdeaScale account in order to do so, but signing up is quick and painless.

The IdeaScale interface is pretty intuitive, but if you're new to IdeaScale (which is one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools), you may want to consult NARA's IdeaScale guide.

The Managing Government Records IdeaScale community will be open for comments until Friday, 6 April.

No comments: