At 03:19 PM 7/20/2006, Nancy Adgent wrote: >Hi, Audrey, >In addition to the previous responses, I would suggest that you also budget >for redundancy -- ideally a "preservation" original, a separate "use" copy, >and a copy offsite for disaster recovery. If you go the server route, the >offsite copy only may be adequate. Whatever method you choose, you should >ensure that the images can be viewed (preferably without loss of quality) in >each update or change of program, version, and operating system. Hello, Nancy and Audrey, Nancy, your point is well taken and I concur on the three copies if the chosen solution is physical media. My preference is also for three copies in a digital repository as well, and preferably on different media. I need to clarify, however, that when I mention "digital repository" that is not simply a server. A "digital repository" is a system and a process and is designed and operated by information technology professionals under a clear mandate to preserve all of the information sent to it. This can be achieved by mirrored servers, backup tapes, or a combination. Some of the material can be kept "near line" rather than "on line" in a robotic tape library, as long as there are enough backups. This approach centralizes the management of a large asset and keeps a consistency among the units of a group like the NPS and avoids the startup costs for each unit. Current examples that come to mind for digital repositories are Stanford University, University of Toronto's "T-Space", and Indiana University's dual-campus system where one campus mirrors the other. Cheers, Richard 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]>