With the onslaught of of books, videos, articles, white papers, images and all things digital, we have some serious planning to do.
- Where to store this digital information
- What methods, procedures and resources can be used to access when stored
These two issues are not separate; they are as integrated as the ingredients of a beef stew. Just possessing the digital data is no better than storing my books and magazines in boxes in my attic with no identification on the outside about what is inside.
We talk a lot about retrieval of information through automated indexing and intelligent search engines. These resources are available for use. Please note that they do not do the indexing and storing and retrieval without humans making decisions, like in the beef stew, about how to locate the vegetables when the meat is cooked and the stew needs to simmer.
Dewey and his decimal system helped a lot of libraries step up for their customers when a text was requested. Google and Bing are the two most notable internet based search engines. There has to be decision makers within your public or private library groups to make choices for how to find what is needed at the time it is needed. This includes, but is not limited to: Accounting records, Inventory control, Employee manuals, Operating instructions, Research documents about the Civil War, How the Southern farms grew cotton after the civil war, New accounts about how the West changed the American landscape Maps of the North American Continent from 1760, Scholars, Politicians, Philanthropists, good guys and bad guys.
With the digital and paper bound Silos overflowing, it is very likely that documents will arrive, be placed in a box and stored in my attic. You can call me for attic access. However, before deciding where to put things, have a conversation with some of the experts at Unlimited Priorities. It is always better to do it right the first time.
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