E-mail problems still plague gov. agencies.

• Position: E-MAIL

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Almost 80% of U.S. agencies re .vulnerable to data loss archive e-mails according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Federal agencies are falling far short of their records management obligations, and they are not being held accountable, David Ferriero, U.S. archivist, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives' Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee in June 2010.

Until recently, federal agencies relied on a paper-based record-keeping system whereby agents would save e-mall messages by printing them out in hard copy form and filing them.

"The practice of printing out electronic documents to archive, weak oversight, and unclear guidance as to which e-mail messages should be saved have increased the likelihood that federal managers have destroyed important government information that should be stored for historical purposes," NextGov.com commented.

The GAO found that the volume of electronic records is growing rapidly, their formats are wide-ranging, and electronic information is decentralized across individual desktops at numerous agencies.

Valerie C. Melvin, director of Information Management and Human Capital Issues at GAO, recommended that the National Archives and Records Administration strengthen its oversight and guidance on electronic records management. She also suggested that senior management should pay more attention to records management at federal agencies.

The GAO identified e-mail management and records scheduling as big problems at federal agencies. User-driven...