CD-ROMs on open shelves in libraries -Reply

[Gerald D Gibson <ggib@xxxxxxx>]

I believe that the issue of packaging to be used for storage and/or circulation of CDS can be helped by
referring to the recently approved ANSI standard on storage of optical discs (OPTICAL DISC MEDIA --
STORAGE)(ANSI IT9.25-1997) and the soon to be balloted AES version of the same document, developed jointly
by the Audio Engineering Society's Standards Committee's Subcommittee on the Preservation and Restoration
of Audio Recordings (AESSC SC03) and the National Association of Photographic Manufacturers Technical
Committee IT9 (Optical Properties and Permanence of Imaging Materials).  The standard was developed over a
number of years, with active participation and review by both developers and manufacturers of  optical discs,
as well as by the library and archival world.  Specifically concerning packing design, the standard states:

".... Containers [for optical disc media] shall be designed in such a way that the disc is suspended so that the
disc surface is not contacting the container when the container is stored in its proper vertical position...."

Clearly, this excludes the sleeve suggested by one application.

The standard continues with information on types of materials that are to be used (plastics such as polystyrene,
polypropylene, and polycarbonate are identified) and those which are to be avoided (specifically cited are
paper, cardboard, foam rubber, and plastics such as celulosics, PVC, and highly plasticized materials), as well
as the general design of the case.  Other topics addressed in the standard are environment (including
temperature, humidity, magnetic fields, and gaseous impurities), shelving, handling, labeling,  acclimatization,
fire protection, inspection, and cleaning.

I recommend that this standard be carefully reviewed if the life of the disc is of concern (and this includes the
5-year life cited in some of the recent postings about alternative packaging for circulating materials).
Unfortunately, CDS are not as impervious to damage, scratching, dirt, and the environment as we would like to
believe, or as some manufacturers have suggested.

Gerald Gibson
Chair, AESSC SC03
Co-Chair ANSI IT9-5
Audio and Moving-Image Preservation Specialist
Preservation Research and Testing Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20540-4560