Re: electronic/paper format & weeding

[Henry Grunder <hgrunder@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This conundrum is rather like the photo shops in my area which
aggressively advertise that they will convert your old home
movies to tape - ostensibly for "preservation." The dirty
little secret, of course, is that the tape media probably have
a shorter life expectancy than the media being converted to
them. That, of course, is analog.
But likewise, the last time I looked, the digital data
storage situation was similarly problematic, that is to say, the
notorious combination of media deterioration/hardware+software
obsolescence. Any proposal to burn bridges in the wake of
"Progress" _ in this case, sugar-coated with the euphemism
"reformatting" - ought to be tempered by the trueism that
"Forever is a long, long time."
Henry Grunder
Conservation/Preservation Coordinator
The Library of Virginia (which would never claim my
views/opinions as its own) 
According to Barbara Sagraves:
> 
> Colleagues,
> 
> Dartmouth College Library, like most libraries, is running out of storage
> space.  Our new addition which will be completed in 2000 will provide only
> 10-15yrs. of stacks growth.  As we plan for construction questions have bubbled
> up about permanent storage and weeding the collection.
> 
> The development of JSTOR and the promise of electronic archiving creates the
> possibility of withdrawing paper copies and relying solely on the electronic
> version.  I was wondering if anyone has begun to discuss that option at their
> own institution and if so what concerns stop your library from discarding the
> paper in favor of the electronic version.  Let me make clear that we are in no
> way considering that option at Dartmouth but planning for  construction has
> made us step back and question retention decisions in light of new means of
> information delivery.
> 
> Has anyone considered weeding in light of the electronic info?
> What has stopped you from discarding paper when electronic, especially JSTOR,
> was available?
> How has your institution's geographic location shaped the decision to retain or
> discard?
> Other thoughts?
> 
> Many thanks.
> 
> Barb Sagraves
> Preservation Services
> Dartmouth College Library
>