>One of the reasons for having an archival TIFF file is because you can
>derive other kinds of digital files (like lower resolution jpegs) from
>it for your website, publications, collection database etc.


Exactly. If the library director is saying that TIFFs aren't needed because
you can always go back to the originals, he/she is missing the point. The
goal should be, get a good, high quality scan of the original so that you
handle the original as little as possible - ideally, you handle the original
once to do the scan, save that scan to a high resolution TIFF, then that's
it for the original. The TIFF file is used to make whatever derivatives you
need, then put the TIFF away as an archival master. And by the way, the TIFF
should be uncompressed.

Yes, TIFF takes up a great deal of storage space, but space is cheap.
Consider, too: It's easy to migrate down from a very large file (e.g. TIFF
to small JPEG for web use) but very difficult to ramp up from a small one
(e.g. small JPEG to publication quality TIFF or JPEG for print use).

Carole Prietto
Daughters of Charity, West Central Province
St. Louis

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