I've enjoyed the debate between Diane Russell and my old (well, middle
aged) friend Peter Kurilecz.  Both made very valid comments in a
civilized fashion befitting our profession.  And now I'm going to step
in.

Peter's concerns about identity theft are certainly legitimate but the
root cause is not the availability of information on deceased
individuals but negligent lending by financial institutions.  When I was
a young man (and I really do expect you young archivists to be rolling
your eyes), one did not get credit unless the creditor (corner grocer
store, merchant, banker, or gas company) knew you or your references
well enough to take the risk.  Now, out-of-state banks offer cards so
carelessly that even some small dogs qualify and are
shocked-I-say-shocked-to-find-that crooks assume false identities.
Rather than cleaning up their own act, the merchants of debt seek to
socialize their problem by closing long-open records not caring about
the consequences to others.

The bottom line is that the bankers are assisting "the terrorists
achieve their objective of destroying our culture and open society."
Archivists and records managers, whether liberal or conservative, should
unite to keep public information freely available.  That is the hallmark
of a free society.

Paul R. Scott, CA, CRM
Records Management Officer
Harris County, TX

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