Marla,
I think the article mentioned by Mark is this one:
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/7751
I'm a bit skeptical about the validity of this test, but I'm skeptical of
optical media, too, so, guess I am just a skeptic.
In case you haven't seen it, a recent publication from the Council of
Library and Information Resources, "Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A
Guide for Librarians and Archivists" by Fred Byers, contains much more
detailed and, in my opinion, trust-worthy information:
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub121/pub121.pdf. It breaks down the
distinctions between the various formats of CDs and DVDs and offers
indications of relative reliability and stability.
At Stanford Libraries, we are migrating images from CD to server; the discs
are about 4 years old. The only problem I've seen is one lost file which
was probably recorded improperly in the first place (Lesson: conduct a lot
of quality control while recording). I think there are lots of places that
are actively refreshing their media on a regular schedule. The key is to
making this work is to designate a specific person for the job, figure out
a way of scheduling the work in a timely, but realistic manner, use the
best media you can buy from different batches and/or manufacturers, make
multiple copies and store them in separate geographic locations, and be
sure to keep equipment around in working order that can run the particular
format you chose for your archival copies. This is not a prescription for
guaranteed success, but these are some of the most basic elements of a data
preservation program.
Good luck,
Hannah
________________________
Hannah Frost
Media Preservation Librarian
Stanford University Libraries
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