Managing Electronic Public Records

Recognizing Perils and Avoiding Pitfalls

Threats to Digital Files , Cont'd.

Storage Media

As technology advances, storage media changes. We have gone from punch cards, 5 1/4 inch floppies, and 3 1/2 inch disks, to flash drives, solid state drives (SSD), and optical media like DVDs. If you have data on these older media, will you be able to access it?

DVDs

DVDs are the most common type of optical discs used today. CDs are still used, but DVDs can hold significantly more information and are more popular. DVDs were originally used for video storage, hence the name "digital video disc." However, because of their popularity now, the name has changed to "digital versatile disc."

Increased storage is one of the primary reasons all other forms of storage media have become obsolete. Even now, as we move to exclusively using DVDs, we have begun to see a rising popularity of high-density, or high-definition discs. Only recently, in February of 2008, did Blu-ray win the battle of high definition optical discs against HD-DVD (similar to the VHS vs. Betamax battle), when Toshiba, the main producer of HD-DVD disc players and burners, ceased production of this hardware.

A DVD can store 4.7 GB of data; a Blu-ray DVD can store 50 GB. (A CD can store 700 MB.)

To ensure longevity, just like when handling any other media such as paper, the quality is important, as are storage conditions. Inexpensive burnable discs have the shortest lifespan, while higher quality discs are available with greater longevity.

"Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke said. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a maximum of five years."

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed a set of standards  for handling optical media. The most important rules are to:

• Handle discs by the outer edge or the center hole. Fingerprints can hinder playback.
• Use a non-solvent based felt-tip permanent marker to mark the label side of the disc. Markers are usually labeled as CD/DVD markers when they are non-solvent based. Sharpie as well as many DVD brands offer these types of markers. Never use a ballpoint pen or anything else that could be abrasive.
• Store discs upright (book style) in plastic cases specified for CDs and DVDs.
• Store in a cool, dry, dark environment in which the air is clean.
• If you ever need to clean a disc, remove dirt, foreign material, fingerprints, smudges, and liquids by wiping with a clean cotton fabric in a straight line from the center of the disc toward the outer edge.
• Do not bend the disc
• Do not use adhesive labels.

Learn more by following the link to the standards in the sidebar.

Personal Storage Devices

As storage capacities increase, the size of storage devices decrease. How long before we are all carrying a personal storage device for electronic information? Many of us already do - at the State Archives all employees have a flash drive to use when moving and sharing files.

When storing data for work, try to keep your storage options to a minimum – when you or someone else needs to find that information, you don't want to have to search. Also, using flash drives for storage is also not a good idea because it means important files could be offsite when needed. Use flash drives only for moving files, or for carrying a copy to an offsite event. The "original" should stay in the office.

Threats to Digital Storage Media

This list of threats to digital storage media can for the most part be applied to any records – especially the environmental issues. It's important to protect your records, no matter how or where they are stored.

• material instability 
• improper storage environment (temperature, humidity, light, dust)
• overuse (mainly for physical contact media)
• natural disaster (fire, flood, earthquake)
• infrastructure failure (plumbing, electrical, climate control)
• inadequate hardware maintenance
• hardware malfunction
• human error (including improper handling)
• sabotage (theft, vandalism)

Back-ups

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of backups. Restoring a back-up is much easier than recreating a file, even a back-up that is a week old. That being said, it isn't exactly easy to retrieve data from back-ups, and you should treat back-ups as what they are – a way to protect against accidents and errors.

Be consistent with back-ups - create and follow a back-up schedule. If your department has a server, store important documents there, as it is most likely backed up daily. When you back up your computer, remove the disk or hard drive from the computer, and store it somewhere else. Make sure through periodic checks that the back-ups actually contain the content they are supposed to have, and that they are labeled properly.

Ideally you will have more than one back-up. For example, if you back up your files on DVD, consider also storing them on an external hard drive, or make another set of DVDs to store at another location.

You can find a link to more information about back-up procedures in the sidebar on the right.

 

Value: 1

I don't need to worry about my electronic records. My IT department handles that. True False

toc | return to top | previous page | next page