Re: [ARSCLIST] Mass Digitization

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Schooley, John" <John.Schooley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> And wouldn't most archeologists and anthropologists KILL to have a
> sample of popular songs or stories from these past civilizations?  We've
> got them in spades, but perhaps part of the problem is they date from a
> time period too recent to yet be of interest to scholars.
> Unfortunately, the formats are much more fragile unlike stone or even
> parchment.  Well cared for, a Gutenberg Bible will probably last another
> century.  Many recorded works won't last until some time in the future
> when academia deems them worthy of study or preservation...  
> 
The one significant exception, of course, being shellac records! As long
as they aren't dropped, allowed to stay wet for any significant length of
time, or wind up in a fire, they seem to be essentially inalterable through
age. I have 78's over a century old, which at the very least play as well
as they ever did...!

Steven C. Barr