Re: [ARSCLIST] Preservation policy question

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 8 Dec 2005, Steven C. Barr wrote:

> > Would you keep the tapes or dispose of them?
> >
> If you are actually seriously short of physical storage space,
> you might pass them to some sort of archival institution.
>
> The value of originals is in two forms...
>
> 1) In case some ultimate disaster wipes out your digital
> archive, or
>
> 2) In case there is some reason to verify that your
> copies are actually identical (in a preactical sense)
> to the actual sound recordings.
>
> Keep Murphy's Law in mind...!

To which I would add...while we believe we can get the best from any
original, I always keep originals simply because I believe there is always
the possibility that technology will give us better capture in the future.
I would hate to think of some lacquer discs being tossed after transfer
considering some of the possible use of the imaging technology for capture
becoming economically viable in the not too distant future. Perhaps we
could have, or perhaps there is, some technology to capture, without direct
contact to a playback head, audio from magnetic tape.

As for what you keep, versus your available space...that is a rough
question at any time...

Karl