For an interesting spin on storage of information, the new (January 1995)
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has an article on "Ensuring the Longevity of Digital
Documents"
 
Barbara Ware
 
On Tue, 13 Dec 1994, Alex Barker wrote:
 
> I know this may open a can of worms, but have studies been done
> establishing the archival permanence (or lack thereof) of CD-ROMs?  I'd
> appreciate any references or pointers to discussions in the literature on
> whether data stored on CD is safe, and what kind of recopy/reburn rate is
> recommended.
>
> The apparent advantage of CDs is the ability to duplicate them easily and
> at low cost, and essentially combine some of the elements of archival data
> storage with the ability to index, search, and disseminate data to a wider
> research audience.  Our project does not include sensitive or
> restricted-access information, only duplication and storage of field notes,
> manuscripts and reports, probably as images (i.e., no current OCR plans).
>
> Any help--or advice from folks who've pursued similar projects--would be
> appreciated.
>
> Alex Barker   [log in to unmask]
> Dallas Museum of Natural History
>