Adobe Acrobat documents use a proprietary format. While the reader is freely
downloaded, the editor is not. And it may be superceded (I'm sure will be)
by a different format. That is why the current best practice is to scan, OCR
(to convert the picture of the words that the scanner makes back into a text
document), use XML to make the document web friendly, and use XSLT
stylesheets to deliver the document as Acrobat, HTML, or whatever comes down
the pike (by writing another stylesheet).  This is not simple or fast, but
holds the promise of being flexible enough that you won't have to scan and
put your documents in another format in a few years.

On CD life: some folks claim that better quality CD blanks like the Kodak
Gold have a data half-life of 100 years. Now, what is the life expectancy of
CD as a current technology? Will you have a working deck in five or twenty
years? Anyone have a 5 1/2" floppy drive?

Wayne Miller
Plattsburgh State

NWDB 2000 writes:

> List,
> I agree with Ms. Bennett. If you have to handle the document why not do the most modern and up-to-date method, turn it into an Adobe document. Burn it to a couple of CDs and store them in two different places (buildings). You can then make copies from the computer. I realize that no one knows the shelf life of CDs as yet but with the right kind of care they will last as long as microfilm. Look how long 8 tracks have lasted.
>
> We just got rid of our microfiche machine becasue it sat in the corner and took up space.
>
> Rolland Miner
> Director
> NWDB Survey 2000
> http://nwdb2000.homestead.com/home.html
> [log in to unmask]
>
>