The State Department has been criticized for inefficiency in finding documents and releasing them in response to records requests. So in response, Janice Jacobs, who was assistant secretary for consular affairs, will take on the newly created position in charge of improving document preservation and records systems. This interesting bit of news came from The Weather Space in their article, “State Department taps former assistant secretary to lead records management reform.”

Jacobs will work with federal agencies and the private sector to explore best practices and new technologies for preserving records at State. Secretary of State Kerry said he also wants Jacobs to focus on improving systems that are responsible for responding to Freedom of Information Act and congressional requests and make them faster and more efficient.

As technology changes, so does information management. It is rapidly evolving and for those in the business, this can present some challenging demands.

Melody K. Smith

Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.