Tip #28: Optical media isn’t immune to the typical archival archnemeses.

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray. What’s the difference exactly?

If you said capacity, you’d be right! Despite being nearly visually identical, the amount of storage space on a CD versus a Blu-ray disc is tremendous. Nonetheless, they’re all forms of optical media and so we can approach their preservation with the same general rules.

You’re probably familiar with the issues that come with a scratched disk, but you should also take care to avoid light and heat. Always opaque boxes to store disks and keep them somewhere with a stable and regulated temperature. If the disc came with paper inserts, store the insert separately from the disc. You can keep the disc inside the jewel case (the protective plastic case), but if space is an issue acid-free paper sleeves can be used as well.

Want to know more about preserving audiovisual materials? Check out our AV preservation webinar on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtxDC7SPgW4

#ArchivalTips #BacklogArchivists #Conservation #Preservation

Dmitri Schmidt

Dmitri plays a pivotal role in coordinating Backlog’s outreach efforts. They curate our weekly #FridayFinds and #ArchivalTips social media posts, shedding light on items discovered in our genealogy work and providing tips and tricks to approaching problems in the archives.

Dmitri holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and German Studies from Saint Louis University. During their university years, they dedicated over 1000 hours to interning and volunteering at local St. Louis institutions, including the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis University Museum of Art. As the Collections Intern at the Science Center, Dmitri assisted in developing and installing the "Into the Vault" exhibit.

Before joining Backlog, Dmitri served as a Fulbright Grantee, teaching English as a second language in former East Germany. From guiding 11th graders in analyzing pop albums as poetry to discussing the significance of the civil rights movement with 8th graders, they covered a broad spectrum of subjects. While reveling in connecting with students and injecting fun into grammar lessons, Dmitri's deep passion for all things archival eventually drew them back home.

Today, Dmitri works as a Herbarium Assistant at the Missouri Botanical Garden, helping digitize the millions of preserved plant specimens. After being scanned and transcribed, these images aid scholars around the globe in furthering botanical research. Dmitri also serves as the archivist for the Kirkwood Historical Society. They are currently overseeing the “Journeys into Kirkwood’s History” project, which aims to digitize documents related to Kirkwood’s early Black settlements.

Previous

Tip #29: Be extra careful with your CD-RWs.
Next

Tip #26: Act as if magnetic tapes are temporary.