Corene Wood Tours United Nations Building

Corene Wood inside the main conference hall at the United Nations

Corene Wood inside the main conference hall at the United Nations building where U.S. Presidents and other world leaders speak.

Corene Wood, a senior records management specialist in the Information Services Division, handles quite a few documents in the course of a typical work week. But recently she received a particularly interesting one: an invitation from the New York State Archives Partnership Trust to attend a program on the United Nation's 21st century architectural revitalization.

Stephen Schlesinger, a renowned historian, gave a brief talk on the history of the UN. “Schlesinger’s talk focused on the evolution and architecture of the United Nations building from its opening in 1951 to today,” said Wood. “We were granted permission to tour areas that are not usually open to the public, including the room where U.S. Presidents and other world leaders speak. The entire day was fascinating.”

After Schlesinger's presentation, architect David Fixler of EYP Architecture & Engineering discussed the philosophy behind the UN renovation. Coincidentally, EYP is currently involved in the architectural design for the renovation of the Lab’s Chemistry and Physics buildings.

Wood, together with the Lab’s records management team, spends her workday helping records representatives around the site inventory and manage their records. She also interacts with records management professionals from other DOE Laboratories, government organizations and private industry. The primary mission of the Lab’s records management program is to plan and implement a cost-effective system that identifies, preserves, and makes available the information created or received during the operation of the Laboratory. The Records Management Program ensures that record information is controlled, maintained, evaluated for historical relevance, and is disposed of in compliance with legal and contractual requirements.

In addition to the Archives Partnership Trust, the sponsor of the United Nations event, Wood is also a member of the New York State Local Government Records Council. She is a board member of the Long Island chapter of the Association of Records Managers and Administrators and the Association of Image and Information Managers.

“I interact with a lot of outside organizations,” said Wood. “We exchange ideas on various aspects or records management, including the handling of requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Documentation and historical preservation of all types of records, including photos and videos, are vital to the Laboratory. We are currently involved in establishing an archive system to capture personal research notes of distinguished employees and guests who have conducted work at BNL. I’m happy to be part of the team that helps organize and preserve records of the Lab’s day-to-day operations and scientific discoveries.”

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2010-1576  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom