Over the past several decades, millions of digital objects of significant scientific, economic, cultural, and historic value have been published and distributed to libraries and archives on removable media. Providing long-term access to these documents, media files, and software executables is an increasingly complex task because of dependencies…

Describes imaging technology, which allows huge numbers of words and illustrations to be reduced to tiny fraction of space required by originals and discusses current applications. Highlights include image processing system at National Archives; use by banks for high-speed check processing; engineering document management systems (EDMS); folder…

The preservation of digital data for the long term presents a variety of challenges from technical to social and organizational. The technical challenge is to ensure that the information, generated today, can survive long term changes in storage media, devices, and data formats. This paper presents a novel approach to the problem. It distinguishes…

Reports on a three-year research project entitled "The Preservation of the Integrity of Electronic Records." The project aims to identify and define in a purely theoretical way both the by-products of electronic systems and the methods for protecting the integrity of those which constitute evidence of action. (AEF)

Recognizing that the fast-developing optical storage technologies provide a new dimension in publishing and information storage, retrieval, and distribution, this report examines the technical characteristics and capabilities of video and optical systems and the implications of this technology. The following aspects of optical disk systems are…

The Library of Congress has embarked on a three-year pilot program in image preservation and retrieval using optical disk technology. Print materials (text, maps, music) will be captured on digital optical disks, and nonprint materials (motion pictures, slides, drawings) on analog optical disks, or videodisks. (EJS)

Prepared under contract with the International Council on Archives (ICA), this study reviews past and present policies and procedures in the archival appraisal and disposal of noncurrent records (to the extent that such have been developed and implemented) by a representative group of international intergovernmental organizations. This study and…

Prepared under contract with the International Council on Archives (ICA), this study is intended to assist information policy and planning specialists; those involved in proposing, drafting and reviewing legislation and administrative regulations; and especially archivists and records managers, in creating, developing, and evaluating modern…

This report is intended to assist Canadian libraries in assessing potential library applications of optical disk technology. Part 1 provides a general outline of the technology and describes a number of library applications and projects. Descriptions are purposely general and illustrative in nature since the technology and its applications are…