Electronic publishing

[J. E. Runyon]

          The debate over whether the medium (cd-rom, floppy disk,
          hard disk, etc.) is "permanent enough" for our purposes
          seems to suggest that there will be no repository for the
          information itself, independent of the primary medium in
          which it's disseminated.

          Try another angle: For purposes both of validating new taxa
          *and* of ensuring permanence of these records, consider a
          central repository where the information will be preserved
          in contemporary media; i.e., as cd-rom gives way to a new
          technology, transfer the data to the new format--a sort of
          conservation of data rather than of medium.

          I think we've learned our lessons from the information
          and art that has become "endangered," obscure, or extinct
          because it was printed exclusively on acidic paper. Now,
          not only do we print them on acid-free paper, but we also
          have certain institutions whose mission it is to store
          these works in a fashion that ensures their permanence.
          Why not work toward solutions like this for electronic
          publishing?

          (Apologies if this has already been suggested; I'm new to
          the list and have been vicariously enjoying recent activity
          on this thread through subscribers here.)

          J. E. Runyon
          Scientific Publications
          The New York Botanical Garden