Good management of records is critical for government offices as well as businesses, Susan Lugo, the territory’s coordinator for archives, told the Rotary Club of St. John members Friday at their weekly meeting.
It may be "a dry subject," Lugo said with a laugh, but the Archives Division is reaching out to companies and agencies that need help. Lugo addressed 15 people at the meeting, held at the Westin Resort and Villas Beach Café.
In response to a question from Rotary Club member Geri Kotas, Lugo said that as territorial law is now written, government agencies are not required to archive their records.
"The legislation needs to be tightened up," Lugo said.
The territory’s archives, which come under the Planning and Natural Resources Department’s Division of Libraries, Archives and Museum Division, has a $40,000 federal grant to use for strategic planning of its archives, Lugo said. She said the plan will be done by July.
When the new regional library at Tutu on St. Thomas is complete, the books and services now at Enid Baa Library in downtown Charlotte Amalie will move to the new library.
This will free up space at Baa Library for the archives to expand. However, Lugo said that the space won’t be big enough for all the records on hand.
Additionally, the imaging center, which comes under Lugo’s domain, will go to the new library. According to Lugo, the territory plans to compete for a $250,000 federal grant to implement its strategic archive plan.
Should the Archives Division be unsuccessful with its grant application, Lugo said the effort won’t be wasted because it will then be able to apply for other grants.
Lugo updated the Rotary Club members on work in Haiti by the Caribbean region of the International Council of Archivists. She said that trailers are needed to house the country’s archives because buildings were destroyed in the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the country. She asked that anyone with a spare trailer call her at 774-2362.
Earlier, Rotary Club member John Fuller outlined the efforts by Rotary Clubs helping Haiti. He said the priority was to get children back in school because those schools that were able to open have 30 percent more students than normal.
Fuller noted that getting the schools open would get the children off the street and give their parents a break.
"And give them one good meal a day," he said.
Rotary Clubs are also buying lumber so Haiti residents can build school furniture. Fuller said this was better than shipping desks and chairs because it would provide employment.
