How should courts salvage or resurrect records?
Most courts rely on computers to store case and financial management records. Access to such records is limited or nonexistent during a disaster. To protect records, courts must determine which documents and processes are essential and how they can be performed and maintained manually. These records must be accessible during the recovery effort, but their safety should be secured. Upon full recovery, those documents must be merged with pre-disaster documents. Basic records, such as accounting reports or case registers, should be printed or put on laptops to be restored to the system later. Keep preventive measures current by printing hard copies and ensuring that data and resources are backed up electronically and on paper regularly. Experienced data-center directors, as a matter of course, arrange for off-site storage of electronic data. Back-up data makes restoration of electronic records possible as soon as replacement equipment can be installed. Data systems should be shut down in
