Since all instantaneous discs are doomed to chemical disintegration in the reasonably near future, we don't bother to reattach labels (the paper of which is often decaying and brittle) but just keep them near (in separate envelopes, ideally) and identified with the discs or photocopy them on nonacidic paper and do the same. No matter what might be used to reattach labels, they are likely to be shed by the exudation of whitish substance as the disc coating decomposes; so I guess you could say that our rationale is "Why waste time, money, and effort in a fruitless endeavor ?"
A colleague at our institution has recently begun a project to clean and rehouse a number of instantaneous disks in one of our libraries. Unfortunately, the adhesive on many of the labels has dried, and the labels have fallen off. She is interested in re-affixing the labels, and asked if there was an adhesive that would be more appropriate for her to use than PVA.
Thoughts?
Tom Teper
Head of Preservation University Library 246F Main Library 1408 West Gregory Drive Urbana, IL 61801
Telephone: 217-244-8755
Fax: 217-244-4358