A committee of the National Research Council has concluded that computers are not the best way to preserve 530 million pages of documents at the National Archives.
The committee said that papers in danger of deteriorating or being damaged should be copied onto microfilm or archival-quality photocopy paper, treated with chemicals, or sealed in protective material.
The committee decided that electronic storage—on computer or optical disks, for example—would be unwise in light of such considerations as the speed with which electronic technology be comes obsolete.
Copies of the report, Preservation of Historical Records, may be purchased from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20418.
