Digitization |Digitization

Retention schedules are written by one group, applied by another, and lived by a third (sometimes a fourth) — and that gap creates a telephone game where good intentions get lost in translation. This post names four places that disconnect shows up most and offers realistic, no-overhaul-required ideas for closing the gap.

Most municipalities digitize their records fully intending to apply retention afterward — but almost nobody does the indexing prep work that retention actually requires. This post breaks down the difference between time-based and event-based retention, why digitizing without indexing only buys you a text-searchable archive (not automation, reporting, or disposition), and the real, multi-line-item cost of a digitization program that actually delivers on its promise.