J. Lowell Langford, CRM, FAI

One of IMA’s most experienced consultant is Lowell Langford, who has been an active, well-known, and highly regarded member of the Department of Energy (DOE) records management community for 41 years. Langford’s extensive career in information resources management began at the internationally known Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 1958. His current employment is as Records and Forms Manager at DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) in Oak Ridge. While much of his expertise has been in records management and records systems, Langford has also had valuable experience in such related areas as reprography, printing operations, technical information management, procedures development, training, auditing, process/quality improvement, forms management, supervision of records technicians, classified documents accountability, and electronic information systems.

In records management, Langford has depth of experience in the inventorying and scheduing of records, managing records storage facilities, developing vital records vaults, records and publications dissemination, information storage and retrieval systems (automated and paper-based), and archival collections identification and management.

Langford’s professional accomplishments are many. He developed, for example, several electronic documents initiatives, including a major records locator database to search for information located at numerous sites. Langford also oversaw development of a database and optical disc system to store and retrieve the large photographic collections generated at ORNL (some 12,000 added each year). He was also involved in the development of ORNL’s Classified Document Accountability Database. Langford directed development of the 360-page Document Preparation Guideline (1989) now used throughout DOE, its vendor community, and in teaching technical writing to college students. He undertook a major revision (1987) of the research/technical laboratory notebooks used by the thousands at ORNL. This process improvement initiative led to a more effective product that reduced time in used and lower the cost of the notebooks. He was responsible for development of a database and optical disc system for the thousands of photographic images produced each year at ORNL.

Langford has been active in ARMA International in leadership roles at the local and international levels for many years. He has been president and Chapter Member of the Year in his local chapter, is currently Manager of ARMA’s U.S. Government Industry Specific Group (and was chair of its predecessor bodies). At the local, regional, and international levels, he has presented papers on a variety of topics, including scientific and technical information, reports management, vital records, electronic transmission of full-text documents, certification, and electronic recordkeeping challenges.

Langford has a degree in Management and Supervision, and he became a Certified Records Manager (CRM) in 1986. In recognition of his distinguished career and achievements in the information management field, he was inducted into the Fellows program (Fellow 22) of ARMA International (1998).