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.  

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