Feel free.
Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Jesse Wilkins
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 11:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Question
Bill,
I want permission to use that nursery rhyme for future digital
preservation sessions. What's your ASCAP rate? :)
Jesse Wilkins
CDIA+, LIT, ICP, edp, ermm, ecms
IMERGE Consulting
[log in to unmask]
(303) 574-1455 office
(303) 484-4142 fax
YIM: jessewilkins8511
New courses on advanced electronic records and email management come to
Richmond, VA Nov 6-8. For details or to register visit
http://www.imergeconsult.com/aerm.htm.
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Roach, Bill J.
Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 7:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Question
Deborah,
There are a number of issues that will have to be dealt with for
electronic records to be accessible for 50 years. All of the parts and
pieces remind me of an old nursery rhyme.
Included in the mix is the software needed to interpret the bits and
bytes that are the building blocks of the records. Most software
programs have only a limited ability to use older versions.
Additionally, there will be very few of today's software solutions
available even 10-15 years from now. In the life of software, 50 years
is an eternity.
The second item is the hardware. Will we have the necessary hardware to
run the software needed to access the records. While hardware doesn't
change as fast as software, it does change. The 8" floppies used by IBM
were replaced by the 5 1/4 models, they 3 1/2" then CD, CDR, CDRW, and a
Baskins-Robbins assortment of DVD formats.
And we shouldn't forget about the media. While media is getting better,
retaining readable media for 50 years is a crapshoot. While the media
itself may hold up very well in controlled conditions, much of what is
being retained is being stored haphazardly and subject to the rigors of
heat, cold, humidity and a variety of nasty volatile chemicals. And
then there are the bugs, tropical ones that have found that the perfect
midnight snack is the reflective layer on your favorite CD.
And finally, there is the formats. We have data today that is in
pristine condition. Unfortunately for the folks that need to access it,
the company that created the software is no more and the hardware it ran
on is no longer available. To make it worse, the company was successful
in convincing the solution purchaser that the best approach was to leave
the data in its native, highly proprietary format.
The bottom line is the nursery rhyme: This is the code, that runs on the
box, the uses the disk, to access the files, so they can be viewed,
after 50 years, by folks in the house that Jack built.
If any one of the pieces doesn't work, Jack's 50th celebration will be a
bust. And remember, 50 years in an archives is but a very thin slice of
history. How will the records be accessed a thousand years from now?
Bill R
Bill Roach, CRM
Enterprise EDMS Coordinator
State of North Dakota
ITD/Records Management
701-328-3589
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