les
overcoming stupidity
Henry Lowood, the Physics Librarian was after me to make my files
available to the Stanford Archives.  However, his ideas of keeping
it available was to print it.  This doctrine is based on the reasoning
below which seems "narrow-minded to the point of stupidity" as I say
below.  Lowood's last message, also reproduced below, appeals for help
in devising a suitable format.  Besides thinking about format, we
need to do some arithmetic concerning the cost of copying the information.

excerpt from Christian Science Monitor
Preserving information: Put It On Paper

... ``In a report to the Natl. Archives released [in late August], experts
found that laser discs, semiconductor chips, and magnetic computer tape all
have basic flaws and are unsuitable to store the information on historic 
documents. The best way to preserve these priceless treasures, the panelists say, 
is on special paper. The experts assembles by the Natl. Research Council
recommended that the federal government begin using better paper for important
documents to head off future preservation problems ... Today's [high-tech] 
equipment isn't expected to stay in service for more than 10 to 20 years.  
According to the report, two conclusions can be drawn: `first, the recording
media may well outlast the hardware; and second, it will become necessary
to recopy the tape record every 10 to 20 years on an ever changing, probably
incompatible, new machine with a new format.' For the Natl. Archives--with 
over 3 billion items to store--and other libraries and private holdings, the 
notion of converting all their historical data five or six times a century 
would bust their budgets. The scientific panel did say, however, that high-tech
applications may make sense for small holdings, or for information that is
needed quickly or used often,''

Donald L. Rheem in Christian Science
Monitor 22 Aug 86, p. 3-4

∂10-Dec-86  1202	JMC  	Preserving information  
To:   physicslib@SIERRA.STANFORD.EDU  
Thanks for the article from Current Contents.  Now that I have had
time to think about the matter I have reached what I hope is a thoughtful
conclusion.  This conclusion is that the recommendation by the National
Research Council is narrow-minded to the point of stupidity, especially
if, as I understand from what you said, it involves converting to
paper information currently in computer readable media and making
the paper the primary archival medium.

If materials are archived on any of the current magnetic media with the
understanding that they will have to be copied again in 20 years, it can
be done in a way that will make any subsequent copying routine.  I don't
believe they have correctly computed the cost of recopying, and I have
some doubt that they have bothered to computed it at all.  It requires
only giving the material a logical format that is independent of the
physical format, and this is a matter that has already been studied and
the problem solved.

It will require some work to devise the formats, and an organization
will probably have to be created, since if such an organization already
existed, the NRC would probably not have reached the conclusions they
did.

As far as Stanford is concerned, I believe that it is not too much
work to devise logical and physical formats for Stanford use
regardless of what is or is not done nationally.  In order to
offer some encouragement to this, I will urge the Computer Science
Department make the recommendation that material in electronic
form be made available to the Stanford Archives only if the
Archives plan to keep it available in electronic form.  This will
be my own policy.

If you could track down for me the actual report of the National
Research Council on the subject, I will examine it to see if it
is as narrow-minded as the Monitor article makes it seem.

∂10-Dec-86  1640	PHYSICSLIB@Sierra.Stanford.EDU 	Re: Preserving information  
Received: from SIERRA.STANFORD.EDU by SAIL.STANFORD.EDU with TCP; 10 Dec 86  16:39:55 PST
Date: Wed 10 Dec 86 16:35:34-PST
From: Henry E. Lowood <PHYSICSLIB@Sierra.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Re: Preserving information  
To: JMC@Sail.Stanford.EDU
In-Reply-To: Message from "John McCarthy <JMC@SAIL.STANFORD.EDU>" of Wed 10 Dec 86 12:02:00-PST
Message-ID: <12261792075.34.PHYSICSLIB@Sierra.Stanford.EDU>

TO: John McCarthy
FR: Henry Lowood

Yes, I can get a copy of the full report from the NRC to you.  If the 
department--or somebody in it--would be willing to help us solve the
problem of devising an appropriate and practical format, that would of
course be something we would use.  I hope I haven't given you another
impression; our problem is that received wisdom in the archival 
community is moving in a different direction, it seems.  Personally,
that doesn't concern me much; if we can do better, we should.

Henry
-------