1. "And what if one drops the tablet while standing on the sacrificial
rock?" Has the record passed it official retention schedule ? Have you
obtained permission from the appropriate authority for destroying this
record ?

2. "Should more than one copy be scribed in case one must read from the
tablet while standing on a hard surface or in case of flood and standing
water for a period of time prior to complete setting of the clay?" Backup
("convenience") copies are always good to have as insurance. The clay, once
baked, is impervious to standing water.

3. "Is there a manufacturing standard regarding the ratio of straw to clay
to water and specific baking time?" Straw is not to be mixed with clay used
for record-keeping tablets (that manufacturing technique is used for
construction brick). Optimum baking times have not yet been established;
that is one of the standards to be developed.

4. "Is there a standard regarding the care and feeding of clay tablets to
prevent cracking or breaking while in carriage or in storage?" No; that is
also one of the standards to be developed. See also question 5.

5. "Are there preferred storage environmental requirements equating to a
particular LE?" No; that is also one of the standards to be developed.
Experience shows an extremely dry environment (< 15% RH) is successful in
obtaining an LE in excess of 2,000 years.

6. "What about the recommended stylus point and clay consistency during
scribing to insure legibility?" A wedge stylus was used to print cuneiform
text onto clay tablets. Check : possible requirement to convert all
materials to cuneiform (which version ?). This is also one of the standards
to be developed.


Have a thoughtful weekend.

Fred.
===============================
Frederic J. Grevin
Director, Records and Archives Management
The City of New York
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
59-17 Junction Blvd., 11th floor
Flushing, NY 11373-5108
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Phone: (718) 595-4372
Fax:  (718) 595-4387


-----Original Message-----
From: Jones, Virginia [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 12:42
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] A Lesson in Records Management - now a little OT

And what if one drops the tablet while standing on the sacrificial rock?
Is there a standard for how to handle clay tablets while standing on hard
surfaces?  Should more than one copy be scribed in case one must read from
the tablet while standing on a hard surface or in case of flood and standing
water for a period of time prior to complete setting of the clay?  Is there
a manufacturing standard regarding the ratio of straw to clay to water and
specific baking time?  Is there a standard regarding the care and feeding of
clay tablets to prevent cracking or breaking while in carriage or in
storage?  Are there preferred storage environmental requirements equating to
a particular LE?  What about the recommended stylus point and clay
consistency during scribing to insure legibility?

8-)

Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Cunningham, Ray
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 12:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] A Lesson in Records Management

Yes but can I trust the data in the baking process? Could not there be some
alteration or degradation in the baking process?

Ray

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