Barcoding microfiche

Becky Ryder <rjryde01 [at] ukcc__uky__edu> writes

>What experience do you have with barcoding silver halide or diazo
>microfiche?

It is conceivable (even likely) that someone makes a barcode label
with an adhesive and on a paper that will not significantly degrade
silver halide images or diazo images. On that front the problem is
finding them and verifying their claims. On the balance of
probabilities I would be loath to accept what is being proposed
without having access to analytical facilities and expertise to
carry out the tests Erich Kesse has mentioned.

The trouble is that those who make decisions often take preservation
advice into account - and still decide that it isn't enough to
outweigh the other factors they also have to consider. Arguments
about chemical stability sometimes seem removed from the practical
realities of getting a job done (although the anecdotal evidence
Erich referred to should be compelling enough). When I look at the
dirty, everyday issues that might be helpful to you, your point
about the physical impact on your storage arrangements is very
powerful. Who wants to have a drawer of fiche that won't stand flat
against each other? They are hard to store, hard to access, hard
to refile, waste space.

I am also led to ask why the barcoding is needed? I recently looked
at security tags for fiche and concluded it was a futile exercise.
The cost and difficulty far outweighed the benefits. Our experience
has been that very few people steal fiche, and the cost of replacing
them is so low that we are better off accepting that risk than we
are trying to security tag them. We have other measures in place to
discourage theft. All of the people who responded to my request for
comments on another discussion list seemed to have come to a similar
conclusion.

Colin Webb
Manager, Information Preservation
National Library of Australia
+61 6 262 1381
Fax: +61 6 257 1703

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:41
                Distributed: Saturday, November 11, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-9-41-012
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