How permanent is a CD-ROM??

[Panza, Robin]

I want to add emphasis to something in Thompson's message:  there is a huge
difference between CD-ROM and CD-RW, and the latter vary tremendously in
quality.  Some cheap CD-RWs have very short lifespans, as a "thrify" friend
of mine recently found out.  I do not disagree with anything in Thompson's
message about CD vs. paper--that, too, varies in quality and the cheap stuff
has a short lifespan.  I just want people to be aware that CD-RW is not
necessarily an archival-quality information storage medium.

just my 2 cents,
Robin

Robin K Panza                         panzar at carnegiemuseums.org
Collection Manager, Section of Birds          ph:  412-622-3255
Carnegie Museum of Natural History       fax: 412-622-8837
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh  PA  15213-4008  USA

-----Original Message-----
From: christian thompson [mailto:cthompson at SEL.BARC.USDA.GOV]

Michael Frankis asked the question: How permanent is a CD-ROM??

The second question is how long will CD-ROM last?  Well, if properly cared
for, probably as long as paper has. That is, the "stamped" type of CDROM,
not the dye-based ones that one write with their computer.  Yes, it is known
that you subject a CDROM to high heat or water, etc., they will fail.  So,
does paper.