Guide to digital preservation

[smiller667]

Just saw this on Slashdot:

Head over to the NIST for a 50-page booklet titled "Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs — A Guide for Librarians and Archivists" (http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/CDandDVDCareandHandlingGuide.pdf).

Original Slashdot story: http://slashdot.org/articles/04/01/24/0054242.shtml?tid=137

[avih]

nice. looks good. i should read it one day i guess...

[cereal killa]

an interesting read

Bottom line is: make copies, store them safe and never use them ;)

[JustinH]

i wonder why it says don't store discs horizontally, but store them vertically instead?

[Kedirekin]

It's to prevent long term warping.

Vertical storage was even more important with Laserdisks and LPs.

[Mr.Bitey]

Thanks All,

I did some searches but obviously used different terminology to others :)

Just to sum up for anyone else reading:

Store your dvd's vertically in a purpose designed case (amaray,jewel etc) to avoid potential warping of the polycarbonate which may occur if they are stored horozontally or flat. Remove any paper booklets/insers as they may attract moisture.

An interesting observation in the NIST spec show DVD-R media to last (when stored properly) some 200 years (although I suspect this is when they are never played and meerly archived in a perfect humidity and temperature controlled environment). DVD-RW media has a significantly reduced life span (comparatively) at 25 years (which was an eye opener for me!)

Cheers,
Mr.Bitey