Howdy list, I am certainly no guru on the matter, but I have read a little into it. Fred R Byers' "Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs-a Guide for Librarians and Archivists" is a good place to start. It is available as a PDF at http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/CDandDVDCareandHandlingGuide.pdf . CLIR also makes this publication available online at http://www.clir.org/index.html . The NIST has published a fairly large amount of information on the subject at http://www.nist.gov/ . If you want to get way into it look at the NIST/LoC longevity study at http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/loc/index.html . Although I do not have personal experience with or the equipment and resources to study it, I think Corrosion Intercept (am I supposed to insert some kind of trademark here?) may be good product for storing optical media (better safe than sorry I suppose). CD jewel case inserts made out of this stuff are available from most the of the archival supply vendors now at around $3 for 10. I would really like to know if there is some good independent research on the subject, though. Later, David Earl Noe Archivist Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum Lincoln Memorial University 6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway Harrogate, TN 37752 423-869-6304 -----Original Message----- From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mitch Brown Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 11:46 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: CD Rom Preservation 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? 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]> 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]>