Re: [ARSCLIST] Format conundrum

[David Lewiston <david.lewiston@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've devoted considerable thought to this in recent months.

Since all digital media currently available seem to have unascertainable
lifespans, I have decided to archive to
archive to all four of the following:

1. 1/4" analogue tape (iffy given Quantegy's business problems)
2. Hard drive (convenient given their large capacity but a poor choice for
longterm archiving, since they die rather easily).
3. AIT-2 streaming tape (the archiving choice of many major corporations).
4. Mitsui Archive Gold CDRs.

It seems prudent to make two of each of the above, stored in different
locations, so that the loss of one set doesn't kill the archive.

I realise I'll have to organise procedures so that all digital archive
copies are transferred to fresh media every five years or so.

Salutations, David Lewiston
The Lewiston Archive, Recordings & Documentation of the World's Traditional
Music



----- Original Message -----
From: "Rod Stephens" <savecal@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 8:24 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Format conundrum


> We've been (and will continue for the near future until something better
> comes along) archiving our 540 radio broadcasts to two separate hard
> drives as .wav files, and two sets of CD-R's.  We believe that the
> redundancy of digital information is the only safe way to protect our
> "cleaned up" recordings.  Of course, we will continue to house the
> original library of transcriptions and master tapes which still have
> excellent reproduction qualities.
>
> Rod Stephens
> Family Theater Productions
>
> Anonymous SET ARSCLIST DIGEST wrote:
>
> >Dear Fellow Archivists,
> >
> >I have spent the last 7 years working with a private institutional audio
collection.  The collection of 7000 tapes is primarily cassette  with some
very early 1/4".  Up until now we have been reformatting to both CD-R and
full track 1/4" (7 1/2 ips).  I have been uncomfortable with the prospect of
putting all our historical eggs in one basket especially when that basket
(CD-R) hasn't got much of a longterm track record.  However, with the recent
closing of the Quantegy plant, and the future availability of 1/4" tape in
question, I am re-evaluating my stance.  I suspect there have been many
discussions on this list about format choice for preservation projects such
as ours but I am a recent subscriber and have not had the good fortune to
gleen the views already expressed.
> >
> >So, my question is really a request for a quick survey.  How many of you
would vote in favor of using CD-R alone, for a collection like ours, with
multiple copies being generated for long term preservation and access
purposes?  (Considering that we would like not to have to do another round
of reformatting for at least 30 years.)
> >
> >Thank you in advance for your responses and any other comments you care
to make.
> >Sincerely yours,
> >
> >Kevin Irelan
> >SYDA Foundation
> >Audio Archive
> >
> >
> >
>