DVD/CDs are never good choices for preservation. See the following research
In 2002, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) directed a study of high density magnetic tapes life expectancy and revealed tapes can have a life expectancy of 100 years. ( http://www.archives.gov/research/electronic-records/magnetic-media-study .pdf ) The Library of Congress completed an unpublished report to study prerecorded compact discs (CD-ROMs) (citation). Both the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2004 (http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/gipwg/StabilityStudy.pdf ) and Canadian Conservation Institute in 2005 published reports of life expectancies of recordable CDs (CD-Rs), rewriteable CDs (CD-RWs), and recordable DVD (DVD-Rs). There is a lot of uncertainty about the stability and longevity of optical disc and magnetic tapes. Studies shows that the stability of the optical media varied depending on the type of disc and the type of metal reflective layer used (Phthalocyanine dye is the best). All the studies show that higher deterioration for optial and magentic media, when exposure to high temperature and humidity condition My personal experience with DVDs is not a good one. 2 of 34 DVDs I received from Vendor for digitization went bad after receiving them. In addition, I do not think 2 copies are enough. We maintain at least 4 copies. Yan Han Systems Librarian The University of Arizona Libraries -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Paul Marty Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 9:51 AM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Subject: Re: [MCN-L] DVD's (5 year lifetime true?) I would like to second Ari's point as well. There is almost no reason to use optical media for storage anymore. Go with the live RAID storage. If you cannot afford that, you can buy several external HDs for pennies a GB. The important point is to keep your data live. If you are storing your digital images on DVD, you are as good as throwing them away -- not because of their life-span, but because of the difficulty of keeping up with future data migration needs. Best, --Paul -------------- Paul F. Marty, Ph.D. (marty at fsu.edu) Assistant Professor, College of Information Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-2100 http://info.fsu.edu/~pmarty On Feb 12, 2007, at 10:43 AM, Jeffrey Evans wrote: > Susan, Yes, media can fail anytime so it is always a good idea to > have two > copies (preferably on two types of media.) Lifespan beyond 10 years > is pointless anyway because you will most likely want to take > advantage of bigger and speedier and cheaper storage devices. Don't > sweat it, keep moving. > > JEFF > > Jeffrey Evans > Digital Imaging Specialist > Princeton University Art Museum > (609) 258-8579 > > > > > On 2/12/07 10:18 AM, "Ari Davidow" <aridavidow at gmail.com> wrote: > >> There is _no_ assured lifetime for optical media (DVD, CD). There are >> claims that "archival quality" media last for 100 years. There is >> also experiential evidence that this is not so. Optical media may >> fail catastrophically at any time (although the odds are that a given >> platter will last for many years). >> If you use optical media for archival purposes, you need to be >> created multiple copies, and also need a fairly rigorous program to >> test each copy regularly (at least once a year) to look for >> degradation. >> >> Faced with this headache, we have opted for live RAID storage, with >> additional off-site live storage--we are currently looking at >> Amazon's S3, as well as at a newer service, carbonite.com. >> Ultimately, we hope to work with a few geographically-distributed >> partners to back up each other's work, but don't yet feel that we >> have the experience or knowledge to be confident that we're ready to >> do that. >> >> ari >> >> On 2/12/07, Susan Fishman-Armstrong <sfishman at westga.edu> wrote: >>> >>> A couple of conservation questions: >>> >>> Our laboratory director came to me last week. He is starting to >>> digitize his old maps on DVDs. >>> >>> He ran across some information that said that the lifetime of DVDs >>> is only >>> 5 >>> years. Is that true? >>> If so, what is the estimated lifespan of the gold plated DVDs? >>> Finally, is the lifespan of DVDs shorter than CDs? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Susan >>> >>> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ >>> Susan Fishman-Armstrong >>> Laboratory Coordinator >>> Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory University of West >>> Georgia Carrollton, GA 30118 >>> >>> 678-839-6303 (office) >>> 678-839-6306 (fax) >>> www.westga.edu/~ajwlab/ >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf >>> Of Amalyah Keshet >>> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:05 AM >>> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu >>> Subject: [MCN-L] IP SIG: Copyright at the Whitney: the >>> Oldenburg-PicassoExhibit >>> >>> Interesting post at : >>> http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/ >>> >>> "Copyright at the Whitney: the Oldenburg-Picasso Exhibit It goes >>> without saying that I can't go anywhere without seeing copyright >>> issues lurking in the background. The last room of the Whitney's >>> "Picasso and American Art," >>> however, forced them to the foreground..." >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Amalyah Keshet >>> Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management The Israel Museum, >>> Jerusalem akeshet at imj.org.il >>> Chair, MCN IP SIG www.mcn.edu >>> Blog www.musematic.net >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum >>> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) >>> >>> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu >>> >>> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: >>> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum >>> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) >>> >>> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu >>> >>> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: >>> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum >> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) >> >> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu >> >> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: >> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum > Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
