Another web archiving question ... For a database-driven website, is
conversion of database to xml or production and archiving of static web
pages the way to go?  Or does it depend on context? E.g. Does it depend on
whether the database is interrorgated by the user, or not (this isn't a
question about collections management databases, by the way).

There is porential to use the historic data (about room booking, for
example) for makerting purposes.  But just because something CAN be done
doesn't mean that it is imortant to do it.

My feeling is that reserchers of the future (like users of today) will not
be aware of how a web page was generated - it is the design and the content
that will interest them.

Another think that supporting this enquiry has taught me: people are
confused between an archive and a backup, and think they serve the same
purposes.

With best wishes to all,

Pat

Pat Reynolds,
Surrey Museums Development Officer
------Original Message------
From: Mark Janzen
To: MUSEUM-L
ReplyTo: MUSEUM-L
Sent: 3 Jan 2006 18:02
Subject: Re: archival storage of CDs

[Sent by: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> ]
Remko,

Multiple backups, multiple storage locations, and even different storage
media are all musts. The NIST publication you need is here:

http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/CDandDVDCareandHandlingGuide.pdf

Either the hard jewel cases or the archival polypropylene versions are
good. The main reason I lean toward the poly-versions is that they are not
as prone to cracking or shattering. Of course, if they are stored and
handled well that would not be an issue. In any case, avoid the thin cases
for long term storage, as they are too thin and flexible.

One of the things I have not seen on any of the other posts responding to
your question, and forgive me if I missed it, is a discussion of data
permanence. Migration to newer media and technology/software obsolecence
are serious concerns, but there is another issue that lurks in the dark
places of our vaults. DVDs and CDs are not permanent storage media, and
they should never be considered as such.

Of course use and poor conditions can damage a CD/DVD-RAM or ROM, but the
data on the disks can become unreadable all by itself even in good
conditions. The dye-based technology that we all use is subject to
degradation over time, and your archived master copies could become
unuseable in as few as 1-5 years, whether or not you still have a computer
that can run/read them. If you are going to archive data in any digital
format, you need to have a policy in place for periodic checking and
recopying of the data to fresh media to prevent such losses.

As David noted, only a few media, such as microfilm, microfiche, and
paper(punchcards), can be considered permanent in the long run. All other
digital and electronic media should be considered temporary and treated as
such. That is assuming you actually want to keep your information for the
long term. DVD-ROMs are a much more stable option, but the difficulty and
expense of producing such creatures in low number/uniqu




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