Strokes... from the Penn (Redux).

• Author: Penn, Ira A.
• Position: 50TH YEAR

This issue marks the beginning of the 50th volume year for Information Management and its predecessors, Information Management Journal and Records Management Quarterly. In recognition of this milestone and the outside editors who led the magazine during its first 42 years, we asked the records and information management (RIM) professionals who were at the editorial helm to contribute to this issue.

As you will read in this section, this publication has always been focused on the future of the RIM profession, equipping RIM professionals for their current responsibilities, and preparing them for future challenges.

When Information Management editor Vicki Wiler asked me, as the 1984-1998 editor of this magazine's predecessor, Records Management Quarterly, to write a piece for this 50th anniversary issue, I hesitated. I've been retired for almost two decades. Who would care what I might have to say? But then I thought, "Hey, that never stopped you before!" So if you're interested, read on.

I started in records management in 1964. There were no personal computers. There weren't even any word-processors. There were typewriters and file folders, and if you were really cutting edge, there was this thing called microfilm. But so what? We did fine with the paper. If we needed the information the paper contained to go to more than one place, we had carbon paper and a relatively new invention--the Xerox machine!

Piles of Paper

Of course, information on paper is bulky and builds up in large quantities, and the more it builds up the harder it is to remember where you put it. That's why, in addition to all the office staff who created the mess, there were records managers who organized it. They did so by designing things called "filing systems."

Filing systems were great as long as they were used properly. Unfortunately, people were notoriously bad at using filing systems, so important information sometimes went missing.

Perils of PCs

Fast-forward about 20 years and along came this thing called the personal computer. It was a machine about the size of a 1970s TV set, and it sat on your desk. You could input data (i.e., type) by using programs that weird people on the other side of the building created.

The premise that was sold to managers was that the machines, with their mysterious programs, would allow workers to do things better, faster, and cheaper. Unfortunately, people who couldn't use filing systems to store their paper information properly...