Records and Information Management: ARMA International's InfoPro

2008-09 Board Election Update

You may have noticed that there has been a delay in the timing of this year’s election process. Please be assured, the election of members to ARMA International’s Board of Directors will take place as always but on a modified schedule. The association’s leadership has been reviewing the policies and procedures for the election to see if improvements in the election process can be made and to try and attract the next generation of leaders for ARMA.  This has temporarily delayed the call for candidates.  According to Carol Choksy, Chair of the Board of Directors and of the Election Management Committee (EMC), members should receive an announcement within the next couple of weeks detailing the revised deadlines. The updated Officer Candidate Information Filing (OCIF) form also will be posted to the My ARMA section of the website, as is the normal process.

Serving on ARMA International’s Board of Directors can be very rewarding and I encourage you to consider it. The leadership skills you gain on the board are invaluable in the workplace. It’s also a great way to give back to the association and to the profession.

Watch your e-mail inbox for more information.

John P. Frost, CRM
President, ARMA International

What Happens in Vegas...

Find out what you can expect when ARMA International holds its 53rd Annual Conference & Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Monday, Oct. 20 - Thursday, Oct. 23.

Visit www.arma.org/conference and get all the details about this exciting event.      

Plan to start off with one of the pre-conference seminars on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18-19. Follow that with the full conference & expo which feature more than 100 sessions on a wide range of topics that include:

• Electronic records retention requirements
• The role of e-records management in compliance
• Web 2.0 technologies
• Developing litigation holds
• Delivering effective RIM training
• Marketing your RIM program
• Protecting personal data
• Tying together metadata and taxonomies
• Building collaboration

Whatever your role in managing records and information, this premier event is the place to be. It's where the business and technology of managing records and information converge. So register securely online today and start planning your schedule.

Regardless of what stage of your RIM career you're in, this year's education program offers you great opportunities to grow. To help you decide which education sessions are best for you, search by experience level (1-4) and/or by category (a.k.a. domain). More than 80 education sessions map to ARMA International's RIM Core Competencies. Not sure which level or domains you need the most development? Check out ARMA International's RIM Core Competencies document and RIM Self-Assessment.
 
Remember to invite others on your corporate governance, risk management, and compliance teams. After all, good records and information management requires a cooperative effort among the key players: RIM, IT, legal, and compliance. And there's plenty for everyone at the ARMA 2008 Conference & Expo.

See you in Vegas!

Now You DO Have Time to Volunteer!

No, we didn’t find a way to add more hours to the day. What we have done is identified a committee structure that will make it easier to volunteer by minimizing the demand on your time and maximizing the return.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not. At its spring meeting, ARMA International’s Board of Directors discussed recommendations from the Task Force on Committee Structure that would move the association fully into a task force model. That means defined deliverables and time commitments. As a volunteer, you’ll know exactly what you’re expected to do and how long you have to do it.

This model eliminates working committees, which often struggle to determine their charge. With the revised model, the board will create task forces based on the specific expertise needed to achieve specific outcomes. Thus, the focus will be targeted and less shotgun-like.

The task forces will report to one of two board committees. An implementation task force is working on the particulars with the goal of transitioning to the new model July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Come Back To ARMA!

For those of you who have left ARMA or for those of you who aren't members but enjoy the resources available on our website, we invite you to join and take advantage of all the additional resources available to members only.

One of the most valuable and newest tools released is the RIM Self-Assessment. This powerful online tool, which is based on ARMA International's RIM Core Competencies, enables you to determine your strengths and identify gaps in your current skills and knowledge. It will also direct you to the specific resources you need for success at every stage of your career.

Remember, this tool is available to members only so join today! And don't forget the many other benefits of membership, including our award-winning Information Manangement Journal and access to our web seminar archive where you can view previous seminars, just to name a few!

There couldn't be a better time to be a member of ARMA International! Join today and start taking advantage of all the benefits.

The ARMA International Bookstore - More Resources for You

Have you been to the ARMA International bookstore lately? If not, take a few minutes to browse our extensive selection. Along with books, you'll find other products such as videos, standards, and articles covering everything you need to know about managing records and information.

If you're not looking for anything in particular, take a cue from your colleagues and pick up one of these best sellers:

Want help getting started in the RIM profession? You need to read Records and Information Management: Fundamentals of Professional Practice by William Saffady.

Need help managing your electronic records? Read Procedures and Issues for Managing Electronic Messages as Records by the ARMA International Standards Task Force.

Or, do you need the 10 key ingredients for making the paper to electronic transition? Read Records Management: Making the Transition from Paper to Electronic by David O. Stephens, CRM.

And for RIM month, we're having a special promotion. Select items in the bookstore will be 10% off from April 15-30. Read the terms and conditions here.

Start shopping now.

RIM Month Is Off and Running!

Did you know that April is RIM month? That's right. This is a great excuse to have fun promoting records and information management in your organization. And ARMA International is here to help with all kinds of tools and resources to aid you.

Visit our newly revamped Promote RIM page to get ideas. There, you'll find new tools such as  campaign-in-a-box, which is a set of resources packaged up to help you promote RIM, and a new blog focused specifically on sharing ideas. Many of the resources are free. And all of them are helpful!

We hope you take advantage of these materials. ARMA International understands that promoting proper records and information management isn't always easy. But it's vital to the success of every organization -- and you can also have fun doing it!

New Tool Maps Out Your Career

ARMA International wants to make sure you have the tools necessary to succeed in your career. Now we have an esssential "roadmap" to tell you where you are and where you need to be. The RIM Self-Assessment will assess your strengths and identify gaps in your current skills.

Just complete the assessment and you'll be presented with a personal Gap Analysis telling you where you need further development.

This tool is available to members only so join ARMA today to take advantage of this valuable resource. Where else can you get a professional evaluation tailored just for the RIM industry?

Click here to start your assessment.

New White Paper Series from ARMA International

Are you having trouble taming the beast that is e-mail management at your company? If so, you're not alone and ARMA International is here to help with a new, valuable resource to help you tackle this issue and many others. We are excited to introduce “Managing the E-Maelstrom: Strategies for Minimizing the Risks of E-Mail,” an exclusive publication that is part of the new Hot Topic series of white papers. These papers tackle the most important issues and trends in the records and information management (RIM) field. Each issue is a condensed publication that gets straight to the point and gives you additional resources to find the solutions you need.

We want to stress the value of this new resource, which we encourage you to share with your colleagues. Use the Hot Topic papers to better understand information management trends and possible solutions to current business issues. Read it, pass it on, spread the word.

"Managing the E-Maelstrom: Strategies for Minimizing the Risks of E-Mail” addresses the challenges of managing your e-mail. Ensuing white papers, published throughout the year, will cover other relevant RIM topics. Members will receive a print copy with the March/April Information Management Journal. The paper is also available for download here.

New Legal Technologies Symposium at ARMA '08

We want to make sure you get the most out of our Annual Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. This year we will be offering another valuable educational opportunity. Look for the new Legal Technologies Symposium located on the Expo floor. It will feature workshops for legal, IT, and RIM professionals.

Now we need your help. Tell us what subject matters are most important to you. Are workshops your preferred format? Give us your top 5 topic areas so we can take those into consideration. We want to make this conference your conference!

Bring a Colleague to the E-Discovery Seminar for Free

If you have a colleague or friend who wants to attend the E-Discovery & Beyond Seminar in New York, then now is the time to register. Sign up before March 10 and bring a second person at no additional charge!

We want to emphasize the importance of collaboration when managing your organization's electronically stored information. We encourage you to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to bring together your legal, compliance, RIM, and IT team.

Remember, this special pricing is only good for a limited time, so register today!

Click here for details.