Within one year, the project paid for itself in time saving. However, even more important is the convenience of the program. It combines fast access on the local network with the portability of CD ROM technology. There is another benefit that cannot be easily measured because it is psychological. As we need to compress more and more records into electronic form, we get a certain amount of resistance.
Many employees still are more comfortable with paper than with electronic records.
Informal discussions with the Albany staff and the Region VII Records Advisory Officer eliminate the feeling of isolation from which many of the records management officers suffer. What is perhaps even more important than the expertise of the Archives staff is their constant encouragement to improve records management of the local level. With this particular project, most members of the Advisory Committee were the direct beneficiaries. The RMO contacted a core group of the Advisory Committee plus the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors prior to writing the grant application. It became clear that the CD ROM production needed to be modified to permit all computers to read the CDs, not only the high-end ones.