Re: [ARSCLIST] Cassette obsolescence

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

Charles Lawson wrote:
> Ganesh.Irelan@xxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> > With a couple thousand cassettes sitting on the shelves I am wondering
> > about contigencies.
>
>
> Start transferring to a digital medium ASAP.  The tapes aren't getting any
> better sitting on the shelves.  If the content is worth saving, do some
> kind of transfer now so that you'll have some kind of access to the
> material if the worst happens.
>
> Chas.

Except for incommensurate lengths, the standalone CD recorder is an 
ideal stopgap solution to this problem. I suggest regarding such a 
capture as a backstop or an emergency solution, not as preservation with 
all of the options one might find ideal. The process is essentially 
mindless (suitable for undergraduate slave labor) and is limited only by 
real-time transfer and number of concurrent transfers budget and space 
will support. It is not ideal, but it is efficient.

In short, it is "some kind of transfer" and is good not only for 
providing "some kind of access" but an easy and essentially risk-free 
way to search for content of interest. (Searching cassettes is the best 
way to destroy them.)

Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/