CD-ROM preservation

[Alice Carli <ac013e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

During a shelf life of five years, the most important probable danger to 
a CD is likely to be theft, followed by accidental scratching of the 
information layer in use, followed by dirt and/or scratching in storage. 
This would suggest that perhaps making the housing theft-obvious is more 
important than any other consideration. How about mounting a very thick 
millage clear plastic envelope (i.e. with a flap) CD pocket on the 
**outside** of the book? I think I've seen such envelope pockets, though 
I was unable to locate them just now in my usual catalogs, since they are 
certainly not "archival." If the book were hard-bound, the pocket and its 
contents should withstand five years of use, while the fact that the CD 
is passively visible, without the book even needing to be opened, should 
significantly discourage casual theft. While this storage option is very 
different from the norm, it may be the best for the particular situation.

Alice Carli
Sibley Music Library