I seem to remember this thread awhile back. If you search the National
Bureau of Standards site there is a reference to etching data onto iridium
blanks. The Mormon Church is also interesting in retaining records for >
1000 years. Also look up references to optical tape. Other references
include:
http://www.slis.ualberta.ca/cap99/jvarney/preserve.htm
Preservation of Digital Data
http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/meetings/npo95rh.html
The digital storage media examined are magnetic tapes and optical disks
(including magneto-optical disks). For each medium the claims of
manufacturers about their longevity, results of accelerated aging tests, and
observations from field sites are presented. Recent research, including that
presented by Jeff Rothenberg and by the National Media Laboratory, St. Paul,
Minnesota, is noted.
The paper concludes that there are at present too many unknowns to commit
digital data to currently-available artifacts for anything other than
short-term storage. The preferred option is to direct preservation efforts
towards solutions which preserve the information content - the digital
'object' - rather than the digital 'artifact'.
http://www.uky.edu/~kiernan/DL/hedstrom.html
Digital preservation: a time bomb for Digital Libraries
Mike
mmcfadden_at_cmh.edu
Received on Thu May 17 2001 - 14:00:28 BST