Agencies are still struggling to identify the best model for records archiving social media. Even as the National Archives and Records Administration continues to provide guidance, some in the gov 2.0 space suggest a collaborative, federal strategy would be more effective than agency-by-agency compliance.

One possible solution would be a standard system of records management across all agencies, suggests Jack Holt, senior strategist for emerging media at the Defense Department. Library of Congress or NARA could assist agencies in setting standard taxonomies with which to tag content--whether that content is a Word document, video, tweet or Facebook post.

"Along with that you could still add your folksonomies. You could still add whatever is relevant to you, your project, your organization, but the federal archives would look at [it and say,] 'this is what's relevant to us,'" explains Holt. 

The biggest fear right now, says Holt, is that agencies are losing information and don't have clear control over content. A governmentwide system could "change the game" by providing a simplified archiving process and speed up information retrieval for stakeholders--citizens and other agencies, he adds.

Holt's take on gov 2.0 records management mirrors many of the recommendations in a new report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government. If agencies address electronic document capture, management and preservation individually, "the results may create silos and duplicative efforts and result in short-term solutions," writes the report's author, Patricia Franks, associate professor in the school of library and information science at San Jose State University.

Franks suggests the creation of a federal chief records officer who would provide guidance and training to agencies by streamlining guidance from the White House, General Services Administration, NARA, Library of Congress, Federal CIO Council and industry. She adds that a single leader on records management would be helpful because, "some federal agencies seem to disregard the authority of the National Archives and Records Administration."

For more:
- see the report, "How Federal Agencies Can Effectively Manage Records Created Using New Social Media Tools" (.pdf)

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