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Re: Film vs CD Revisited



Greetings from Florida's west coast. I also disagree with Mr. Lewin's comments, and his reasoning as follows:

<<<<First of all, I will readily acknowledge that many films will have a life of
1200 years or more if preserved in ideal, pristine conditions.  Quite
obviously, CD-ROMs are not going to compete with that.>>>>
 
I couldn't have put it any better myself (except I'm not sure what citation you are using for the LE of 1200 years). You ARE the one, however, who originally stated that gold CD's will last "2 to 3 times as long as film."

<<<<My experience has been that many libraries and archives cannot afford to maintain ideal conditions.  Acid-free materials, climate-controlled locked vaults, specially trained technicians dressed in booties and lint-free attire are simply beyond most budgets.>>>>
 
True, but while working in local archival organizations for much of my career, we have been able to provide adequate, if not ideal, storage which has been "good enough for business." (Though I have had a lab coat or two!) Some of the original rolls of microfilm produced by these organizations in the 1960's are still as legible today as the day they were initially filmed, WITHOUT subsequent data migration or hardware upgrades I might add.
 
<<<<My "real world" experience has been of filing cabinets with strips of negatives or sleeves of slides (primarily E6); of researchers (often interns) meaning well but not always understanding the consequences of naturally occurring oils from fingertips or prolonged exposure to light tables.  I submit that under such conditions, the life expectancy of film is significantly less than 1200 years.>>>>
 
In these instances, Mr. Lewin, you are apparently talking about the working copies of the film, and not the original rolls made for archival storage. I have not worked for, nor know of any archival institution of any size, which permits access to the original microfilm rolls for research and reference purposes.

<<<<In many libraries and archives of my acquaintance, E6 slide films will begin to experience color shift in 5 years; 10 at the outside.  Kodachrome
transparencies will maintain color fidelity for 50 to 60 years if stored in a
cool (not cold), dark place.  For the moment, let us not discuss 8 x 10 B&W prints in green pendaflex file folders.>>>>
 
The film referenced in Renee's original post was microfilm. These examples given in the statement above are concerning color photographic film or B&W prints. Apples aren't oranges.

<<<<Certainly the cost of such data migration would be significantly
less than, first, putting your collection on microfilm and, second, scanning
that microfilm.>>>>
 
Could you provide some cost comparisons to demonstrate your certainty and quantify "significantly?" Also, what is the purpose and necessity of scanning the microfilm? It was not mentioned in Renee's original post. Further, you would need to include the cost of the original data conversion to CD along with the migration costs if you are going to do a cost comparison in your example above.
 
Finally, I would like to point out that data migration is open-ended; it's not just something that you will have to do once or twice. As an example; migration is required for public records in Florida with a long term retention to be migrated every ten years. For records with a 50 year retention you would have to migrate at least 4 times. For permanent records migration would have to be carried out an infinite number of times (at least until acknowledged hardware, software, and data format standards have been established for long term/permanent storage purposes.)
 
<<<<I stand by my original comments [see following paragraph] when I suggested that Renee should not microfilm her collection but that she should, instead, digitize it.  It is, in my opinion, the most cost-effective and efficient way, now available to us, of recording and preserving content.>>>>
 
<<<<Argue the archival nature of CD-ROMs if you will.  The fact of the matter is that when you have a gold-based CD, you've got a storage medium that will last 2 or 3 times as long as film.  If you're using a recognized brand name (such as Kodak), you've got a medium that will probably last longer than that if you take care of it.>>>>

What concerns me about this advice is that it is presented as a fact, but there are no figures or citations given to back it up. Your posts have not been able to substantiate that it is more cost effective to digitize and migrate; nor have you been able to establish that in "gold-based CD, you've got a storage medium that will last 2 or 3 times as long as film."
 
Personal opinions are fine and welcomed, however, statements presented as fact should be documentable.
 
 
 
Sincerely,
 
Curtis Welch
Sr. Records Management Analyst
Pinellas Co. BCC Admin. Services
cwelch@co.pinellas.fl.us
 
509 East Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33756
(727) 464-3315 (Voice)
(727) 464-4951(Fax)