Hi All
It seems to me that it's always a choice of two evils:
CD-ROMs (as James pointed out) are guaranteed to break down ultimately but
are a one-off investment in a real 'thing'.
On-line resources can persist indefinitely in principle, but only if there
will be someone around who cares enough (or is paid enough) to maintain
them (and for how long?).
I guess my inclination is to prefer the latter (because the shelf-life of
CDs is so short) but sustainability is a serious issue. It doesn't come to
much if the resource is only running on a dusty webserver in the basement
of some undisclosed institute. On the other hand, it's not cheap to do it
properly either...
Cheers
Leif Isaksen
Project Officer, Geomatics
Oxford Archaeology
PS I feel kind of depressed now... ;-)
Quoting "ALBROW, Julie" <[log in to unmask]>:
> We at the Oxford English Dictionary currently publish the dictionary on
> CD-Rom concurrently with the print copy. You may or may not be aware
> that a new printed edition is very infrequent simply because of the time
> taken to update an entire dictionary. Therefore a new CD-Rom is also
> infrequent.
>
>
>
> Simultaneously we now publish the OED online, access to which is
> subscription-based. Individual members and institutions can subscribe to
> the dictionary and benefit from updates every three months, as they are
> made, which are not available either in the print edition or on the
> CDRom. Online access is much more sensible for a good digital resource -
> providing it is maintained in a professional manner, it will be
> up-to-date at all times, can take account of immediate changes, and is
> accessible to all without risk of theft or damage.
>
>
>
> Best
>
>
>
> Julie Albrow
>
> Project Coordinator - OED
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: The Digital Classicist List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Juan Garces
> Sent: 28 September 2005 15:14
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [DIGITALCLASSICIST] CD as medium for digital publications
>
>
>
> I was forwarded not long ago an email exchange between a director of a
> digital lexicography project and a librarian. The former enquired whether
> the library could purchase a lexicon on CD-ROM. The librarian's answer
> was that the acquisitions department strongly disencouraged the purchase
> of CD-ROMs. Some of the arguments put forward included:
>
> - public machines are too locked-down for loading new software
>
> - there is a very high rate of theft in relations to CD-ROMs
>
> - whenever there is an on-line alternative, the latter should be
> preferred
>
> - major publishers are moving away from publishing on CD-ROM.
>
>
>
> While I do find some arguments persuasive and others not so, it truly
> begs the question: are CD-ROMs (and, I suppose, the same goes for
> DVD-ROMs) still a desirable medium for ditigal publication?
>
>
>
> I would appreciate your feedback on this.
>
>
>
> Best
>
>
>
> Juan
>
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dr Juan Garcés
>
> Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
>
> Kay House, 7 Arundel Street
>
> London WC2R 3DX
>
> T: +44 (0)20 7848 1393
>
> F: +44 (0)20 7848 2980
>
>
>
>
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