Media preservation
Paper/prints (photos)
Color negatives and ordinary color prints may fade away to nothing in a relatively short period if not stored and handled properly. This happens even if the negatives and prints are kept in the dark, because ambient light is not the determining factor, but heat and humidity are. The color degradation is the result of the dyes used in the color processes. Because color processing results in a less stable image than traditional black-and-white processing, black-and-white pictures from the 1920s are more likely to survive long-term than color films and photographs from after the middle 20th century.
Black-and-white photographic films using silver halide emulsions are the only film types that have proven to last for archival storage. The determining factors for longevity include the film base type, proper processing (develop, stop, fix and wash) and proper storage. Early films used a Cellulose nitrate base which was prone to decomposition and highly flammable. Nitrate film was replaced with acetate-base films. These Cellulose acetate films were later discovered to outgass acids (also referred to as vinegar syndrome). Acetate films were replaced in the early 1980s by polyester film base materials which have been determined to be more stable than film stocks with a nitrate or acetate base.
Color prints made on most
Documents/books
With documents for which the media are not so critical as what the documents contain, the information in documents can be copied by using photocopiers and image scanners. Books and manuscripts can also have their information saved without destruction by using a book scanner.
Where the medium itself needs to be preserved, for example if a document is a crayon sketch by a famous artist on paper, a complex process of preservation may be used. Depending on the condition and importance of the item this can include gluing the media onto more stable media, or protective enclosing of the media. Polyester sleeves, acid-free folders, and pH buffered document boxes are common supportive protective enclosures whose selection must match the media's chemical and physical properties.[1] Other considerations in preserving paper/books are:
- Damaging light, particularly UVlight, which fades and destroys media over time by breaking down the molecules.
- Atmosphere contains small traces of sulfur dioxide and nitric acid which turn media yellow and break the fibers down.
- Humidity and moisture also aid in the breakdown of media. If there is too much, the document can be attacked by bacteria, and if too little, cellulose material breaks down.
- Temperature, particularly elevated ones, can destroy some media. Low temperatures can cause the water to form crystals which expands destroying the structure of paper-based documents.
Online photo albums
Although there are many websites that allow the
Optical media - CD, DVD, Blu-ray, M-Disc
Write-once optical media, such as
Magnetic media - video cassettes, tapes, hard drives
Audio and video tapes require specific care and handling to ensure that the recorded information will be preserved. For information that must be preserved indefinitely, periodic transcription from old media to new ones is necessary, not only because the media are unstable but also because the recording technology may become obsolete.
Magnetic tape can also be destabilized by magnetic remanence decay, which refers to the weakening of the tape's magnetization over time. This weakens the affected tape's readability, leading to reduced sound clarity and volume or picture hue and contrast. Baking the tape will not restore magnetization.
Media at risk include recorded media such as
Along with the actual media being degraded over the years, the machines that are available to play back or reproduce the audio sources are becoming archaic themselves. Manufacturers and their support (parts, technical updates) for their machines have disappeared throughout the years. Even if the medium is vaulted and archived correctly, the mechanical properties of the machines have deteriorated to the point that they could do more harm than good to the tape being played.
Many major film studios are now backing up their libraries by converting them to electronic media files, such as .AIFF or .WAV-based files via digital audio workstations. That way, even if the digital platform manufacturer goes out of business or no longer supports their product, the files can still be played on any common computer.
There is a detailed process that must take place previous to the final archival product now that a digital solution is in place. Sample rates and their conversion and reference speed are both critical in this process.
In floppy disks, the lubricants inside the plastic jackets of many older floppies promote the decay of the magnetic medium. Also, the alignment of the magnetic particles of the disk substrate may gradually degrade, leading to a loss of formatting and data. Early laser disk media were prone to degradation as the layers of the disk substrate were bonded with an adhesive that was vulnerable to decay and would crumble over time. This would lead the different layers of the disk to peel apart, damaging the pitted data surface and rendering the disk unreadable.
See also
- Digital preservation – Formal endeavor to ensure that digital information of continuing value remains accessible and usable
- Media Preservation Foundation – US archive of radio station jingles
- Preservation (library and archival science)– Set of activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record or object
- Preservation of magnetic audiotape
- List of national archives
- Smithsonian Institution – US group of museums and research centers
- National Audio-Visual Conservation Center – US Library of Congress audiovisual archive
- Library of Congress – US Congress research library
- Academy Film Archive – Part of the Academy Foundation
- National Archives and Records Administration – United States government agency
- Packard Humanities Institute – American non-profit foundation
- George Eastman Museum – Museum in Rochester, New York, U.S.
- George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection
- Museum of the Moving Image (New York City)– Museum and archive in Queens, New York
- National Film Board of Canada – Public film and digital media producer and distributor
- Separation masters – Long-term preservation for modern color motion picture film.
- Film preservation – Historic preservation of motion pictures
- Photograph preservation– Study of the physical care and treatment of photographic materials
References
- ^ "Care, Handling, and Storage of Works on Paper". Library of Congress.
- ^ Webster, John (2009-08-13). "How long is long-term storage? | Data-driven - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ Library of Congress, "NIST/LC: Optical Disc Longevity Study," https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rt/NIST_LC_OpticalDiscLongevity.pdf
- ^ National Archives and Records Administration, "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Optical Storage Media: Storing Temporary Records on CDs and DVDs, National Archives," https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/temp-opmedia-faq.html
- ^ UKOLN, "Digital Archaeology: Rescuing Neglected and Damaged Data Resources," http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/supporting/pdf/old-p2.pdf
- ^ Saylor, Michael (2012). The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Perseus Books/Vanguard Press. p. 86.
- ^ Broadway Video Digital Media, "Causes and Measurement of Videotape Decay," http://sportsvideo.org/main/files/2010/08/video-tape-white-paper.pdf