[LINK] Archival storage

[Daniel Rose]

>From one of our digitial storage admins:

At the NLA every 5 years we re-evaluate our technology dependencies and
consolidate them. This includes formats, media, etc.

In the longer term, we define archiving as the ability to store
something for 100 years. We figure that if you can do it properly for
100, then forever can't be too far off that, given we re-evaluate our
position 20 times every 100 years.


It seems then that one way to preserve things is to keep them online, in
production.  Of course, this raises the price quite a lot.


>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rick Welykochy [mailto:rick at praxis.com.au] 
>Sent: Thursday, 24 June 2004 13:50 PM
>To: 'The Link Institute '
>Subject: [LINK] Archival storage
>
>
>An interesting question and informed response on the
>SLUG list regarding archival storage.
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>Subject: Re: [SLUG] Archival storage
>Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 13:29:57 +1000
>From: Michael Lake <Mike.Lake at uts.edu.au>
>To: slug at slug.org.au
>
>Kevin Waterson wrote:
>
>> What systems are available these days for archival storage of info.
>> Optical storage is not really archival.
>
>It depends on how far back you define archival. By my definition of
>archival there is no digital archival medium. Archival to me 
>means being
>able to store information so that it is available to subsequent
>generations. Media for that include paper documents (on archival paper)
>, photographs (as black/white on silver or metal particle based film,
>not organic-dye colour film), and phonographs. No digital format today
>is known that will last that long. Neither the medium or the 
>system that
>is needed to read it.
>
>Microfich is really an analog storage system and data on microfich may
>last for some decades and maybe longer. At least it will be able to be
>read as all you need is a magnifying system.
>
>Digital storage is realatively new. It is known that tape backups can
>last 20 years, but we don't know if they will last 50 years. All
>magnetic domains on mag media will eventually relax, especially as they
>were designed to be able to be read/written easily. So they won't last
>as long as paper or B/W film can. Optical storage systems 
>should be able
>to do better but fungus attack and surface outgassing of oxygen will
>eventually convert the thin Al layer to transparent Al2O3. 
>Also with any
>magnetic or optical system you also need the reader, and if the storage
>format is lost is more difficult again.
>
>Basically looking back from the future our age will be an age that
>archivists may call "The information dark age" - not because we were
>un-enlightened but because the information never lasted.
>
>Mike
>
>
>-- 
>_________________________________
>Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services
>
>I haven't blamed the states for anything. I'm just saying that problems
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