> 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