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Re: CDROM Policy



Linda

My personal opinion would be that the lifespan of the CD ROM media would be
the least of any worries about migration.

If you can, think back 5-10 years to what software applications you used.  I
would hazard a guess that they would be quite different to what you use now.
Could your current software read a file created in the older software?  In
some cases, this might be possible without loss of format/information/etc.
In other cases, it might be impossible to be read.

Migration is NOT just the copying of data from one format to another - it
has to include any conversion of data from the technology used to create it,
to versions able to be read by current technology.  There is always a risk
that some information might be lost or changed in such a process.  You will
have to work out what the consequences of any change might be, as well as
the likelyhood of it occurring and see if it is worth the risk - if it isnt,
then you will have to do something to reduce the level of risk to an
acceptable level.

Unfortunately, migration is not an easy path to follow - there are very many
variables - not just media life.  In fact, it would be difficult to tell how
long such media will last - it depends on the production environment for
each batch of CDROMS - different each time, and probably not consistant
between brands (not to mention the storage environment, etc)

Some other things to consider might be:

How long does the information have to be kept?  If it is due for destruction
soon, it might be more cost effective to retain one old computer with the
old software to enable the files to be read, rather than migrating it.

Complexity of the documents.  Simple word processing documents should be
easier to migrate than, say, a complex database application.

How much 'change' to the document is acceptable?  There is always the risk
that changes will be made to the document during migration (but I have
mentioned this already).

And many more...

It is very hard to estimate how much resistance to any new policy will have
on your organisation.  The correct answer is "it depends".  How comfortable
are your staff to change?  Will they care how and when you migrate?  How
much will it cost? etc

John Lovejoy
johnl@naa.gov.au

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Stanisic [mailto:lindas@PRSC.QLD.GOV.AU]
Posted At: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 9:51 AM

Dear All

I have been asked by the Manager Info Tech to start working on a policy re
the migration of data/images on CDROMS.

Most of the literature points to 10 years being "the" time frame where
deterioration begins.  Has anyone set in place an organised migration of
their data?  Does anyone have a policy already in place?  Was there any
resistance to this procedure?

I would appreciate any help you can offer.



Linda Stanisic
Archivist
Pine Rivers Shire Council
Queensland
Australia

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