>>Under Australian law this puts you at some risk, as you may have to
be
able to prove the integrity of the images. If they have sat around on a
hard
disk on the LAN, it is theoretically possible that they could have
been
fiddled with. So far we have not had a test case, and no-one seems
willing
to volunteer<<

Glen,

Why would images be different for any other type of electronic data. 
And if
images are suspect, wouldn't other types of electronic and paper
records,
which are far easier to manipulate, be treated with even greater
suspicion?

Maybe the legal environment here in the states is considerably
different
than it is "down under".  However, I believe one of the reasons that
there
are so few willing to challenge the issue is that in practice it is
most
likely a non-issue.

Migration takes place every day.  Photocopies are a form of migration.
Today most of them are done using the same imaging technology we use
in
scanners.  Electronic files are migrated from system to system. 
Typically
records can go through numerous cycles (on-line to near on-line to
off-line.
Documents are also migrated from electronic to paper to microfilm and
then
back to paper for use in litigation or audit.

I believe that reasonable care will take care of all of the issues.
Reasonable care includes:
 - Security to protect the record.
 - Standard procedures for capture, storage and migration.
 - Consistency of actions.
 - Documentation of activities.

Whether data, images, microforms or paper, the evidentiary standard is
the
same.

Bill Roach, CRM
North Dakota ITD/Records Management
701-328-3589
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