Those of you who work with law enforcement agency records, what are you doing, if anything to ensure that audio and video recordings remain viable? As records manager for the metropolitan government, I have been asked to store audio and video recordings for the Police investigative unit. This includes a variety of media including: audio cassettes, micro cassettes, VHS tapes, mini-discs, CDs, DVDs etc. These recordings are considered investigative case files, which are retained for 50 years according to our retention schedule. I realize that there are problems here including instability of media as well as hardware and software obsolescence which will render most of this material useless long before the end of the retention period. I'm concerned that we'll be wasting space with what will eventually become essentially empty boxes and also that at some point in time these recordings may be needed and the information won't be there. It seems to me that the best way to maintain this information so that it remains viable for the long term would be to digitize everything that isn't already in a digital format, store it on a hard drive and migrate the files as technology changes. Is this the best strategy? If so, the next question becomes will the Police Dept. be willing to commit the financial resources necessary to maintain these large audio/video files (the volume of which will continue to grow as time goes on)? Any suggestions? Roger Hamperian L.F.U.C.G. Records Center and Archives Lexington, KY List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance