CONTROL OF THE AGENCY'S RECORDS STORAGE GROWTH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76-00883R000100130006-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 14, 2001
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: June 10, 1971
• Content Type: MF

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1 0 JUN 1$i
10 JUN 1971
RAND 1: Executive Dir ctor-Cooptroller
TAROUGE1 : Deputy Director for Support '
Control of the Agency's Records
Storage Growth
SUBJECT
1. Paragraph 11 of this memorsadus ontains a e
tion for your approval.
2. Yor many months? the Records Management Board and the
Agency's Records Management Staff havo devoted a major portion
of their efforts to the problem of containing a constantly
increasing Agency records are ewoaco re imt within a
limited fixed area at the Over the
past two years, interim steps have been tahen to poatpone
reaching full and final capacity at the Centers e masures
included the following four principal approacbee
a. A concerted effort was initiated in 1963 to
achieve a adbutantial reduction in Directorate, hold.
Lags in storage For two and a half
years a records purge was conducted by each Director
ate and resulted in a net Agency reduction of about
80000 cu ft of records. This not reduction is a
temporary reversal of the previous growth rate %Allah
averaged about 6,500 cua ft per year &ring the
preceding ten-year period,
b* Resources were made available andaetion
initiated last year to install modern records storage
eineut and to renovate warothowo storage space at
order to make available
Opp:coxiuete1y 2OOQ ca ft of additional capacity.
A total of 1532000 cu ft of storage space will be
available when this work la coAplcted sogletime late
in 1971.
0. Concurren ly? a variety of programs were
initiated to explore record min Iturization techniques
and applications in order to reduce the volume of
records requiring storage spaco and to improve retrieval
nd utilization of filed data.
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d. ch Directorate eontinuedo with varying der000
? of sunceas? to exmine record* creation and retention
policies in order to try to reduce the growth bnrden
on the records storage facilities of the Agency.
3. Two of the foregoin approaches -. the ."purge and the?
acquisition of space and eclinl,pment aro o in. terms of accrued
benefits?
one hot affairs. Although they have pmvided a
breathing spell -- perhaps six or seven years -w they will Dot
reshit in any long-tersi or perAsneat solution to the tgency's
records storage growth problems. Although they should continue as
an element in each Dirocteratevs records manageuent prograo 2ddi-
tional parses in the foreseeable future will provide substantially
fewer benefits. The allocation of significant resources for further
physical expansion seems very unlikely. No permanent solution is
possible unless net growth rtes are reduced ultimately to zero.
The other two approachea to the prebleu niii.atnrization and
policy change* for records creation and retention .. are siva-
movins and colaplex offortn which impact on each Directorate's
record problema in varying deu%ees.. There reason to believe
that the success of those approaches relates directly to each
Directorate's motivation to attach the problem. However, it is
within theae two areas -- ulnisturization and more rigorous control
over records creation retention, and destruction -. that the long-
term resolution of the Azeney's records storao Troblemn her
4. An Directorates are fully aware of the stringent records
storage space situation at Recently, each performNi
well in "purging" its steraze record* ot documents no longer having
retention value. Each is exploring slicrophotegraphy an a space.
?f8 R,Ving eirid retrieval d,avice?. Officer aro revming the level of
their "supplemental di ribcxtIon dcc =ant e:?141eka
o The conclusion reached an a result of these efforte is
t? et accOVlialmente dr.q:?end to a lf:trc,e extent on the degree of
iority and importance which the line comand' in each Directorate
aces on the records sterege and control problam, Nvon zoo in
the absence of specific gealso achievement is sporadic and
unpredictable. Given the /Agency's heterogeneous activities?
organizations, and approaches to man gement problems? any attemp
to institutionalize unifority or centralization among Directorates'
microfilming systemso policies, and procedures, is of doubtful
utility and in the long rnn, is probbly counterproductive 4;w:d
be impossible to define. In other wordso each Directorate must do
its own job and run its own program. A central Agency stuff component
CAU only advise it can accomplish little,
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?
6? The fact remains that the Agency has a, fIxed and lirite4.
records storage capacity to accommodate what will be a continually
increasing records stereae load. Ir xlothing. is dolma the CIA
Records Center will reach maxitmaa capacity in S.IX, or seven years.
SIAM to Directorates haAre =Arca of their CAM. records creation
and retention, policies and prograxas.? they must 41eo assume the
responsibility or controlliag tho aitw a tha ntoreze baraon fi4poned
on the, 43ency stoma faellity as tt reault of their records creation
tad control activitles. This means that each Directorate 'gust be
limited to a gradually decreasing mane net Growth in records stored
at the Records_ Center and evontnany the 'anneal volume ecceseleno
;allot equal annual dosizmetion volume* This limitation must be fccuaed
on a date in the fatnre 4'11,e_ra the craic footage of new records stored
each year s\fill equal that of old reconls OMOV Oa* Conelar.rontlys,
en
Agency wilay prohibiting the pnocuremont of additional st()rage
facilitiea safes and files at IleadctaartA,wn and other ,krency
locations, except porinve when a new organization is created will
prevent xaerely transferris the problem from= to other Agency
locations*
7. The allocation of an annual net rrd etoree increa$e to
each Directorate will control the flow of records toViva Itecords
Contort, but at the same te, the solution to each Direetorate4a
records storage problem is alea:oly the responsibility of the
individual Directorate. Each Directorate will deterrdne for itself
whether microfillaing? reductions in records creation and retention,.
the storing of :microfilmed. cocvater.:produced, repc,,rts in lieu of ha:mi
cow, or anu other approach is cost...effective, This will contribute
materially to its ability' to live within the allocated =mai atereze
rate* The Directorates will have to :;%5410:0 the responsibility for
developing and implementing records redaction actions within their
own _areas of manazeemt res;?onsibility* The rotiromat of records to
the Records Center will continue to be accomplished throuSe the
existing Reeorda Control richodules IvoceSfae* to enonra that legal
retention' rknirezaants are observed. ?
80 The following data in presented to cleat", thia app cht,
Total records storage capacity
at at the end of 1971
'ASA Aaency are es atoraae
at present
Capacity for general pnrpoaa
atorage 137?000 an, ft*
153 so 000 ca ft*
en. It
SM1 "
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s?dct SItJtMJ ^
d. Reserved for archives growth 5,000
e. Reserved for contingencies 22422 202000 cu. ft.
f. Capacity available for
Directorates (end DCI area)
Current Directorates and
DCI otoraze levels (as of
1 April 1971)
Ii. Net capacity available for
future growth
117,000 cu. ft.
42,000 cu. ft.
A net growth capacity of 42,000 cu. ft. means that, in order to avoid
further investment in additional storage space, each of the four
Directorates must be limited to a growth or 10,000 ca. ft. (and DCI
arca 2,000 cu. ft.) over whatever period of tL4e Is deemed advicnble.
When this 42,000 additional cu. ft. has been occupitd, annual levels
of the introduction of records into storage must equal annual records
destruction levels. It would appear that a twenty-year prozram of
gradually decreasing annual records storage authorizations is necessary
to provide Directorates with a time-frame within which to explore,
establish, and implement the m..eans to achieve equilibrium between
records creation and records destruction..
9. The fellowing system iivosing a reduction each year in the
annual net increase in space allocated for records storage at by
each Directorate will serve this purpose.' Vach Directorate will be
reigird to limit net increases in its annual records storage levels
at as f011owst
istrre FY 1971 1,000 Cu. ft.
PIA. yr. :Fr 1972 950 cu. rt.
3rd yr., FY 1973 900 en. ft.
etc. (annually reduced by 50 cu.. ft. each year)
. 19th yr.. 191 100 cu. ft.
20th yr. ? FY 1990 50 cu. ft
Each year thereafter -. no net increase is authorised.
frJV: ;
r ?
Of Course, if new Directorates are createdl or if unknown revuirevients
appear which cannot be net throuzh the contingency space avaablo2
these annual not increase allocations can be further reduced or
reallocated at any time as cirewstances warrant..
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?t "".
Cocur with oierdtioi contained in Paragraph, 11:
John W. Coffey
Deputy Director for Support
The recOmmendation made in Paragraph 11 is approved:
17 L K" Whita
--17771710-G--
Executive Director-Comptrolier
JUL 197-1
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