On Mon, May 4, 2015 at 10:00 AM, charlene martin <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I am hoping to hear from the experts :)
>
> First, I should clarify my question. I am a recent graduate (3 yrs ago)
> from an archival program, so I wonder if I am "showing my green" in
> adhering to what my professors taught me, that digitization does not equal
> preservation (i.e., keep the originals in addition to the digitized
> version). Also, my primary training is in archives (manuscripts), although
> I am currently working with record collections too. I wouldn't toss
> permanent retention originals, and why digitize those on retention periods,
> only to dispose of them at the end of their period?
> All the more reason for me to learn from all of this.
>
> Here is the thread:
>


You've received some good advice/opinions on this, but there is no one size
fits all answer... and as I'm known for saying, "It Depends"...

It depends on why you're doing this and what you're trying to achieve/avoid.

One of the biggest differences in opinion you'll hear is the voice of an
archivist, opposed to the voice of a records and information manager.  But
you'll also here the IT and financial opinions of bottom line and "that's
horse and buggy thinking"... =)  There are also differences from the public
and private sector, the industry segments people work in, and the need to
manage information for short versus EXTREMELY LONG retention periods.

If you've seen what Harvard has done, you know there are extremes that
organizations can go to, if funding and space isn't an issue... but for
most of us, it is.

http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2015/03/harvard-librarys-cold-storage.phtml


Everything has an anticipated life- with proper measures taken,
(environmental controls, limited physical access and handling, replication
to protect from loss under extreme conditions) you can extend that life.
Microfilm, while NOT PERFECT is one of the best methods of preserving
access to physical objects over extremely long periods of time (LE500, when
properly processed and stored), but as you mentioned there are some
drawbacks.

And as mentioned by others, scanning/imaging is another means of extending
accessibility to images, but there are the concerns here as well;

- establishing proper quality checks of images when captured,
- deciding on a resolution fine enough to guarantee a clear and usable
image, but doesn't result in a file size too large to transmit or copy onto
media,
- selecting formats that will withstand the test of time,
- accurately and completely capturing metadata,
- managing the repository/ies of images,
- maintaining persistent access as long as needed,
- avoiding media and equipment degradation,
- avoiding hardware/software obsolescence, and
- budgeting for extensive costs for conversion and migration throughout the
lifecycle.

In certain situations, we are doing "day forward" imaging of microfilm AND
certain physical format materials, imaging them as they are accessed.  In
most of these cases though, we are NOT eliminating the source microfilm or
physical source materials.  Following complete QC of images and metadata,
we are returning the film to storage, (after annotating the cards or
jackets to indicate it has been imaged) or sending the physical materials
(indexed in boxes, with a location for them included in the metadata) to
deep storage in the event we need to recall them because of a 'spoiled'
image or a need for greater detail access to the content.

And, as Ginny properly mentioned ".... if you do keep the paper original,
you are going to incur costs for storage as well keeping them in a quickly
accessible order, because, as long as the paper exists, the courts will
consider IT to be the legal record...." but the courts aren't an issue for
us and WE DO consider the source materials to be "the record" still.  The
images are intended solely for reference and ease of day-to-day access.

Good luck in your endeavor.  You're not green, you just haven't been burned
yet and you're treading cautiously.

Larry
-- 
Larry
[log in to unmask]



*----Lawrence J. MedinaDanville, CARIM Professional since 1972*

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]