Putting It Into Practice

Evaluating Your Collections

Magnetic Disks, CDs and DVDs

While it is clear that magnetic disks and diskettes, CDs, and DVDs (which are all used to store various types of digital data) have limited physical lifespans, it is difficult to determine the extent of their deterioration by simple observation. If problems are noted when accessing the data or playing the CD or DVD, this should be taken as an indication that the item may be vulnerable to a more serious failure.

However, given the fact that the hardware and software to access these materials will likely become obsolete before the media themselves deteriorate, determining the condition of these materials is not the highest priority. It is very important to gather descriptive information (called metadata) about all items determined to be of long-term value. This should include physical details of the format, and the hardware, operating system, and software required to access the data. Data that is of long-term value should be copied and migrated to new formats when necessary. This is addressed in more detail in Session 6: Reformatting and Treatment.