RE: [AV Media Matters] Let's just get rid of tape and optical mediaentirely

[Bob Savage <bsavage@stanford.edu>]

I've been reading this thread with great interest. Two comments:

I agree with Jim Lindner that the problem of electronic file management is
best handled by the IT folks. The relatively short life expectancy of
digital media formats as well as the even more urgent issue of format
obsolescence mean to me that we need a new approach for the digital age. We
can't think of these cultural artifacts as being physical artifacts, the way
we might with an archive of B&W 35mm film or 78 RPM records. The physical
formats are merely the vessels for the information we wish to preserve.
Preservation of these "information artifacts" will be much more active than
warehousing essentially stable media types (e.g. back up systems, regular
replacement of host media, "reformatting" as technological change dictates,
and a regular program of diagnostics appropriate to the physical format du
jour).

Specifically regarding preserving audio on Compact Discs: I think we can do
better with a "media- less" solution here as well, because audio CDs have
absolutely no provisions for integrated metadata. As far as I am concerned,
writing things on the outside of the case is not acceptable, and having all
of the metadata completely separated from the "information artifact" is by
no means a perfect solution. Some sort of server-based scheme for archiving
digital audio would permit us to use an integrated approach (not to mention
the possibility of transcending the bit-depth/sampling-frequency
restrictions of audio CD where desirable).

Bob Savage
-----------------------------
Media Preservation Unit
Stanford University Libraries
bsavage@stanford.edu