Forget digital preservation; it's paper we need!

I was amused by an article in the July/August 2007 edition of Information World Review regarding the problems caused by (lack of) digital preservation of e-documents at the National Archives (TNA) – though I should add the intention of the article was not to amuse.

It seems there are problems accessing data created in legacy versions of Microsoft systems, though I wasn’t entirely sure if this was because of the medium used to store the data (I think most people would struggle to get at the contents of a 51/4 inch diskette these days), or the software application itself (surely Word97 is not yet obsolete?). However, as the article points out, the objective is to make “digital data as resilient as paper”. And anyone who’s spilt coffee on the printout of that latest policy statement knows exactly how resilient paper is!

Ah yes, I remember how we were once told that CD-ROMS were virtually indestructible, and that preservation of the data was guaranteed in perpetuity. I guess anyone who’s tried to rebuild software on a malfunctioning PC using the original manufacturer’s CD-ROMS can testify to this being a myth.

I’m reminded of a quote from a senior executive at the old Sperry Rand Corporation (now Unisys) when questioned about the longevity and integrity of digital data on Sperry’s (circa 1960) drum storage technology. The riposte was “it will last indefinitely, or 5 years, whichever is the sooner”. It seems we still haven’t cracked this little nut!

3 Comments

  1. Randy F said:

    It’s not paper you’re looking for, according to my sage professor of a few years ago, it’s microfilm! All you will ever need to view it is a magnifying glass and a light source.

    September 7, 2007
    Reply
  2. Dissident said:

    Randy,

    I’m not an expert in such matters, but I thought the chemicals used in microfilm gradually detiorated. Probably more resilient than paper, but I guess everything has a finite life. Perhaps microfilm would outlast digital media though.

    Steve

    September 8, 2007
    Reply
  3. Sid Hecker said:

    Not ready for digital BECAUSE: 1. When the computer goes down, forget making ptints until some “expert” come to fix it. When my darkroom enlarger goes down I change the bulb or fix it in two minutes with a screwdriver.

    2.Digital prints don’t last, no matter what the manufacturers say.
    The ink sits on the surface of the paper, unlike chemicals which sink in to the paper.

    Comments appreciated.

    Sid Hecker

    November 9, 2007
    Reply

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