I raised a similar discussion recently on the US archives list.
With regard to CD-R, I was surprised that no make/brand was recommended
as being the best to use, and indeed this seems to be the case, which
raises a few concerns: so many other media seem to have an "archival"
quality version recommended for use.
The most useful URL I received was
http://www.fadden.com/cdrfaq/
One conclusion I am coming to is that if you do use CD-R it is a good
idea to allow for redundancy and cut several CDs (at least two). If the
failure rate is as high as some have suggested, this is at least a cheap
fall back, albeit not infallible.
For the specific case below, as already suggested, the Archaeology Data
Service should be consulted.
--
# Richard Higgins
# Durham University Library
# Archives & Special Collections
# Palace Green
# Durham
# DH1 3RN
# E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Karen Muldoon wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> Does anyone have any experience of the curation of data written to CDs?
>
> I work for an archaeological contracting unit, where data is constantly
> being produced: (paper and digital records).
>
> It has been decided by management to introduce writing to CD as a short term
> measure, to reduce pressure on our internal server. However, my concerns are
> that the long-term implications have not been considered, and I would
> welcome any comments/ suggestions/ practical advice......
>
> As original documentation and post-fieldwork documentation (the site
> archive) are ultimately deposited with associated finds at the relevant
> museum, and hard copies of digitally produced data are incorporated within
> internally published site reports, and also deposited with the site archive,
> the process of writing to CD could be regarded as a back-up measure (?)
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Karen Muldoon
> Archive/ Records Supervisor
> Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit
> (BUFAU)
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