Collaboration

Collaboration

The Information Access Division (IAD) of the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the Preservation Research and Testing Division at the Library Of Congress (LC) has begun a collaboration to test the longevity of recordable optical media including DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CD-R. The details of this collaboration are presented on this website.

About the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts.

Preservation Research and Testing Division of the Library of Congress conducts scientific research to advance the preservation of the Library's collections by extending their useful life as long as possible. Besides traditional book and manuscript materials, these collections include a variety of other media, including photographs, motion picture film, magnetic tape, and digital optical media such as CDs and DVDs. This division is also responsible for establishing specifications, acceptable practices, and testing protocols for all materials used for the conservation and/or storage of the Library's permanent collections, as well as for specifying acceptable storage conditions, conservation practices and treatment processes that may have a direct or indirect impact on the longevity of the collections.

About NIST

Founded in 1901, NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration. NIST's mission is to develop and promote measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. NIST carries out its mission in four cooperative programs, the NIST Laboratories, conducting research that advances the nation's technology infrastructure and is needed by U.S. industry to continually improve products and services, the Baldrige National Quality Program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and the Advanced Technology Program.

NIST has an operating budget of about $858 million and operates in two locations: Gaithersburg , Md. , (headquarters—234-hectare/578-acre campus) and Boulder , Colo. , (84-hectare/208-acre campus). NIST employs about 3,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support and administrative personnel. About 1,800 NIST associates complement the staff. In addition, NIST partners with 1,400 manufacturing specialists and staff at affiliated centers around the country.

The NIST/LC Project Team:

Jian Zheng (NIST (contractor), Lead Scientist),
Oliver Slattery, Fred Byers, Arthur Klepchukov, Anna Nhan (NIST),
Chandru Shahani, Michele Youket, Elmer Eusman (LC).