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Karen, This is a very interesting question. I would think that if the CDs are indeed replicas or versions of information that is found in hard copy reports, your first decision is a records management decision - what is the long-term value of the digital records? If you decide that the digital records need to be kept in the long term then you need to develop a long-term strategy for preserving the whole record, not just the bit which is carried on the medium. The CDs may in fact out-last the hardware and software necessary to read the data. Your organisation will want to consider whether there is any financial benefit to hiving the data off onto CDs and freeing up the server, if there is a long-term need for an expensive refreshing and migration strategy. I hope that this response doesn't raise more questions than it answers - good luck with this! Margaret Crockett -----Original Message----- From: Karen Muldoon <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] ' <[log in to unmask]> Date: Monday, October 30, 2000 12:29 PM Subject: CD writing >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) > > > > > > > > > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%