Mitch, I think the general consensus in the media world is to use the acrylic jewel boxes that were designed from Day One to be the best protection for CDs available (within reason). The key attributes are: --lightly hold the centre - too much force may start delamination of DVDs and/or cause radial cracking in the CD --provide edge support so that the read face of the CD/DVD floats above the insert. --protect the disc from dust and fingerprints There are 2-disc cases that are the same thickness as a single-disc one that still meet (or come close to meeting) these requirements. I use those for audio transfers of tapes longer than 74 minutes where two discs are required. Newly on the market, Stil Designs in Quebec has a polypropylene CD case, but make sure the hole plugs are available, otherwise the case will "breathe" dust with each access to the disc. Their latch mechanism is very good and they don't crack in the mail like the acrylic boxes. http://www.stildesign.com/STil/index_e.aspx?DetailID=67 I don't have any connection with Stil Design other than they have sent me some samples. Their case is more expensive than the standard acrylic case, and there are no duals, but if I were looking to rehouse an archive I would certainly consider the Stil cases. In any event, I wouldn't use sleeves or cardboard that actually touched either surface. As I'm sure you're aware, the label surface of a CD is as fragile or more so as it is easy to damage the reflective layer which is only protected by the print/lacquer coating. Cheers, Richard At 11:46 AM 6/6/2006, Mitch Brown wrote: >I am currently working on a collection that has CD Roms in it. They >are in various cases (cardboard, plastic). I have a fairly simple >question (I think). Is it preferable to keep the media inside the >case it comes in or should I take them out and put them into CD >sleeves? Will the acids in the cardboard and anything else >negatively affect the integrity of the media? > >Also, are there good white papers on this subject? Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask] Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes. A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>