Letters

Building Biodefense

Having worked in biodefense for a good number of years, I read "Something in the Air" (May 15) with great interest. I am elated that the federal government is making technological investments in improving our nation's abilities to manage the consequences of a large-scale bioattack. But technology is only one part of a system solution.

The best monitors in the world are rendered useless unless the people who receive that monitoring information are part of an integrated response system that successfully networks information from medical surveillance, epidemiological investigations and law enforcement intelligence. Once the overall system is activated, it has to be flexible in managing response functions ranging from mass prophylaxis to medical care of the infected to quarantining and isolation.

I agree that monitors provide crucial data. But they are not, in and of themselves, a solution to bioterrorism preparedness.

Stacking Up

I read with great interest "The Paper Paradox" (April 15). I serve as the director of the National Archives and Records Administration's Federal Records Center Program. For more than 50 years, we have provided storage and service of records for government agencies in 17 records centers throughout the country.

Despite the advent of technology that was supposed to make the federal government "paperless," we have observed a steadily upward trend in our holdings over the years. The number of cubic feet of paper records in records centers continues to increase each year, from 45,000 in 1950 to 14 million in 1980, to our current total of nearly 24 million. In fact, this steady rise in holdings led to our establishment as a fee-for-service operation in fiscal year 2000, since appropriated funds could not keep up with the growing demands from federal agencies for records center services.

In addition to this increasing need for paper storage, like the Government Printing Office, we are seeing a simultaneous demand from our federal customers for digital services. We are exploring new lines of business using digital technologies, including scanning services to preserve paper documents in electronic format, storage of agency e-vital records and other electronic media, and electronic delivery of reference requests.

So while federal records centers are evolving to meet agencies' electronic data storage needs, we anticipate that despite the influx of information technology, we will be providing paper-based services to the government for years to come.