Delete, erase, shred: The enemies of federal record keepers

FILE - In this 1973 file photo, Rose Mary Woods, President Richard Nixon’s secretary at her White House desk, demonstrates the “Rose Mary Stretch” which could have resulted in the erasure of part of the Watergate tapes. In the never-ending quest to preserve the government’s history, there have been plenty of weapons of mass destruction. Before there were “delete” keys on computers, there were paper shredders, “erase” buttons on tape recorders and trash cans. The current dustup over access to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s emails as secretary of state is causing historians and government record-keepers alike to take stock of what may be a best-of-times, worst-of-times moment for saving government records.

File, Associated Press

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FILE - In this Dec. 18, 1986 file photo, Oliver North is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington prior to testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In the never-ending quest to preserve the government’s history, there have been plenty of weapons of mass destruction. Before there were “delete” keys on computers, there were paper shredders, “erase” buttons on tape recorders and trash cans. The current dustup over access to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s emails as secretary of state is causing historians and government record-keepers alike to take stock of what may be a best-of-times, worst-of-times moment for saving government records.

J. Scott Applewhite, File, Associated Press

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FILE - In this March 10, 2015 file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to the reporters at United Nations headquarters. In the never-ending quest to preserve the government’s history, there have been plenty of weapons of mass destruction. Before there were “delete” keys on computers, there were paper shredders, “erase” buttons on tape recorders and trash cans. The current dustup over access to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s emails as secretary of state is causing historians and government record-keepers alike to take stock of what may be a best-of-times, worst-of-times moment for saving government records.

Seth Wenig, File, Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — The focus on Hillary Rodham Clinton's email practices as secretary of state is causing historians and government record-keepers to take stock of an imperfect system for preserving the government's history.

In this age of email, texting, Twitter and beyond, there are more records than ever on the workings of government.

But it's also easy to make these records disappear — and challenging to find a manageable way to capture what's significant.

Here's how Paul Wester, chief records officer for the government, puts it: "The situation is not as good as we would like it to be," he says — particularly during the transition from paper to electronic records.

He says the National Archives was surprised to learn Clinton used only a personal email account and server while secretary of state.

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