(NESA): "Only keeps info for 7 years..."
MAJ (")
Sat, 11 Dec 1999 16:15:34 -0600
Earlier, I posted to Henry and to the list:
Henry wrote in part:
>> Our council only keeps info for 7 years
And I responded:
>Not true. Someone told you a lie, there.... If you're willing to spend a
day in your >Council's offices in the basement or wherever they keep their
archived files, you >can go back further back than seven years.
Several Scouters took issue with that statement, based upon a Operations
memo that went to local Councils requesting them to consolidate and reduce
the amount of archived information that they have stored. Parts of that
memo was released here on Scouts-L two months ago and we talked about it
with regard to our conversation with regard to ScoutNet2000, the BSA's new
electronic tracking, filing, and record keeping software being installed and
run in most of our Councils now.
While that is true, many Councils are NOT going to follow that advice; there
is not enough confidence right now with ScoutNet2000 for those Councils to
start destroying copies of advancement reports and other data or even to
move them to a "dead storage area." Many Councils STILL have records which
goes back at least to the last 10 to 15 years; and some Councils are making
plans to retain ALL of their records going back even further than that
because of inquiries about awards (especially Eagle) that National depends
on them to respond to and to provide a recommendation upon.
Under ScoutNet2000, because much of that data would now be "online", the
need for paper copies of unit files would be reduced. However, many
Councils are seeing that ScoutNet2K is not working out the way it should be
and there are large gaps between what the Council has recorded and what the
Region/National has recorded.
It is TRUE, however, that National has requested that Councils do reduce or
eliminate the amount of unit files held at their offices and some Councils
have complied with the request....but those are small in number than the
ones that are still holding on to their "old stuff."
My recommendation is STILL to go to the Council office, be prepared to spend
an entire day there, and ask them to allow you to go through your unit or
District's files to find the appopriate information. Please do NOT ask them
to do this "for you because you don't have the time...." They won't, and
it's NOT because they are being hard-nosed about it, but rather because they
don't have the staffing to do this for EVERYONE requesting such research!!
Settummanque!
-----
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (settummanque, the blackeagle)
http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle
personal inquiries via kyblkeagle@aol.com,
blackeagle@SCOUTER.net or blkeagles@hotmail.com
professional inquiries via waltonmi@usarc-emh2.army.mil
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