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yep, good points, agree all 'round. One thing in the analog world that may be appropriate is that we do not view all collections as equal. In kicking this around locally we've been discussing different levels (or insurance policies) per collection depending on things like how unique it is, born-digital, cost to re-scan etc. I still tend to think that the TCO of this is generally underestimated in part to due to consumer prices for storage. Kyle Banerjee wrote: >> Has anyone been able to give a projection to their management on what the >> total cost per TB is for preservation over even a short horizon of 10 years? > > The trick is that the cost varies drastically with the model employed. > > Preservation is insurance, plain and simple. If you buy more coverage, > you're protected against a wider variety of threats. The problem with > most preservation discussions is that options are weighed only in the > abstract. The best protection consumes significant financial and staff > resources -- which reduces your ability to deliver services. Plus, > there is no such thing as removing all risk. > > The most appropriate model for an institution will vary depending on > what they need to preserve, how much there is, and how they define > acceptable risk. It's all a matter of defining where the lines are > drawn. > > There is a tendency to pretend that analog libraries are somehow safe, > but even if theft/loss weren't issues, they get flooded and catch > fire. In the bad 'ol days, catalog drawers could be burned in > protests, and in contemporary times, loss of vendor support for your > system or other problems represent a real threat. > > kyle -- Jimmy Ghaphery Head, Library Information Systems VCU Libraries http://www.library.vcu.edu --