It is once again the spooky season. Time for jump scares and horror thrills from our favorite scary flicks. We in the records management field often see records and information management (RIM) applications in our entertainment. So, let’s grab our candy corn and caramel apples and enjoy the feature.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead!)

Ghostbusters (1984)

The classic ghost-chasing adventure about three university professors who start their own supernatural extermination business.

The opening fifteen minutes mainly takes place in the New York Public Library (NYPL) when the librarian, Alice, descends to the lower levels to shelve books. As she passes by, the books move from one shelf to another and the card catalog cabinet’s drawers open with the cards flying, scaring Alice. Cut to later in the scene—the three professors arrive at the library and the lower levels where they find books stacked up to the roof in the middle of the walkway and the card catalog covered in ectoplasmic goop. Around the corner they find the cause of the mess— a ghost of an unknown librarian. With the revelation of NYPL being haunted by a ghost, this is an ideal time to perform a site survey and check for other oddities or infestations that may cause damage to the records and books in the library.

Of course, the first step is to address what caused the ghost infestation in the first place. Next would be to identify what practices need to be in place to prevent it from happening again. Bulletin F: Records Storage Standards references the laws and rules for what is required as well as recommended enhanced storage conditions for records. While pest management is listed in the recommended considerations since it is not an immediate threat to the records (in comparison to exposure to damaging sunlight, flooding, or fire), with a ghost leaving the library in a disarray with a trail of ectoplasmic muck, it would be advised to find a service that specializes in ghost prevention to ward off any future hauntings.

Where would an entity find such service professionals? While we’re not technically allowed to recommend vendors… “Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!”

What other RIM Brain have you experienced this Halloween season? Let us know in the comments.

Checkout our other RIM Brain articles:

• “RIM-Brain: The Horror“
• “RIM-brain in Movies and TV“
• “RIM-brain at the Movies, Part II“
• “RIM-Brain: The Office“
• “RIM-Brain: Sci-Fi and Fantasy“