Patent ID: 7836067

Claim:
A method of obtaining an electronically-stored financial document from one of a first storage system and a second storage system with the first and second storage systems being different from each other wherein the first and second storage systems each include a plurality of financial documents stored therein and wherein each of the financial documents is associated with at least one specific document parameter, said method comprising the steps of: storing a plurality of financial documents in a first fixed medium at the first storage system when the specific document parameter of the financial document is greater than a predetermined parameter; storing a plurality of financial documents in a second fixed medium at the second storage system when the specific document parameter of the financial document is less than or equal to the predetermined parameter; utilizing, through a user, a computer terminal connected to the first and second storage systems through a processing unit; submitting a request for at least one of the stored financial documents into the computer terminal; comparing the specific document parameter of the requested financial document to the predetermined parameter to determine if the specific document parameter is greater than, less than, or equal to the predetermined parameter after the request has been submitted; accessing the first storage system through the processing unit when the specific document parameter is greater than the predetermined parameter and accessing the second storage system through the processing unit when the specific document parameter is less than or equal to the predetermined parameter; and retrieving the requested financial document, as defined by the submitted request, in the first fixed medium when the specific document parameter is greater than the predetermined parameter and in the second fixed medium when a specific document parameter of the financial document is less than or equal to the predetermined parameter.