It is almost impossible to define what constitutes a “disaster”.   For many of us, our first thought when we hear the word disaster is a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or fire all of which pose a serious threat to your municipality’s vital records.  Even a burst water pipe can wreak havoc on your records.  The truth is disasters take many shapes and forms.  Regardless of the event, do you have a plan of action in place to help safeguard your records?  One that will enable you to get back up and running as soon as possible, as well as allow you to access your records from remote locations? 

While making a plan for your records will not constitute a total recovery plan, it will play a very important roll in one.  Don’t wait until it is too late to start developing your plan.  Before you can start planning, you need to have a good understanding of your current situation. 

• How are your records stored? Paper, microfilm, electronic, etc

• Where are your records stored?  On site storage, offsite storage, etc

• How portable are they should they need to moved or you need to evacuate?

• Can your records be accessed if you are relocated? 

Once you know what you have and where it is, you can start thinking about how well it is protected and how easily it can be transported/accessed should a disasters strike.  

To help make your planning a little easier, think about Electronic Records Management (ERM).  Having your records digitized in a non-proprietary format can eliminate the pit falls of paper and microfilm documents.   Paper has proven to be a very vulnerable storage medium. Not only that, it requires a lot of storage space and is cumbersome when it comes to relocating.  And while microfilm has a long “shelf life”, it can be nearly impossible to read without the propriety equipment needed to view it.   On the other hand, once your records have been digitized, you can create backups of those records for offsite storage giving you an added layer of protection.   In addition, many ERM systems have features that allow you to view your records remotely in the event your offices are not accessible.  

Ideas to share:

• Conduct a mock disaster recovery exercise. This can help uncover any gaps, if there are any, in your disaster recovery plan.

• Work with a scanning bureau to help scan your record archives.

• Check with your ERM vendor to see what they do to help clients get back on their feet after a disaster strikes.  

Ultimately, the best outcome is to never have to put your recovery plan in play, but in the event that you do, make sure yours is ready to go at a moment’s notice.