UM: Archiving

Archiving101.com has a post on archiving electronic records in light of the current financial crisis, and quotes extensively from an article first published by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: “(I)n Michigan, the lack of a specific statute has allowed two agencies to develop radically different e-mail practices. The University of Michigan has made e-mail private to the ‘fullest extent permitted by law.’ Washtenaw County, where the university’s Ann Arbor campus is located, adopted a resolution to make county government e-mail open to public scrutiny. The conflicting policies in Michigan illustrate the tensions between open records laws and privacy concerns. Open records advocates argue that e-mail is a natural product of the move toward ‘paperless’ offices. Others argue that government employees use e-mail believing that the messages are private.” [Source]