Poster: Burn This Disc: Treating Fire-Affected Optical Discs
Miguel Resendiz, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
Every year, the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives accessions many CD-Rs and DVD-Rs. Occasionally, archivists request help from Conservation to assess discs with physical surface condition problems. As part of an intern project to research physical and digital remediation strategies for physically damaged discs, a sample set of 30 non-accessioned discs was prepared and placed in a test fire as part of a disaster recovery training exercise. Variables included uploading eight files of varying types onto these discs, which were then prepared with a range of condition effects simulating received real world examples. All the samples were documented with photography and digital validation (checksums) against controls before the test fire. Our ability to both ingest the files and compare their checksums after the test fire, and after treatment, was used to measure the effectiveness of a range of cleaning methods and to provide a treatment recommendation workflow that facilitates collaboration between the Digital Services and Conservation teams.