PDF is not even convertible now, so I am not optimistic about the future.
There are other formats that are convertible now and don't require
proprietary software for viewing.  PDF is the "industry standard" for
*delivery*, but I think we have to choose something else for archiving.
-Beth

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Keith Morgan [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Tuesday, January 23, 2001 3:20 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: ETDs are we rushings?

on 1/23/01 2:28 PM, Jim Beaven at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> One hundred years from now they might not be able to view our
> videos, mpgs, and other formats that go along with our T/Ds, or even if
> they can it may be prohibitively expensive in time and money to so.  But
> even so, they will be able to read the archival paper copy and reconstruct
> what they want from there.

On the other hand it might not be prohibitively expensive, it could be
incredibly cheap and easy. Technology deserves some healthy skepticism but
I'm not sure that we know how difficult format migration is actually going
to be. Granted the early years of computing produced some serious problems
but should we judge the problems of  today from the experiences of 1985? NC
State was one of the original partners with VA Tech on the ETD project and
we adopted the PDF format as an interim solution while we waited for the
SGML format to mature. That hasn't happened yet, and indeed,  might not for
all I know. Despite that I have some confidence in the viability of PDF as a
format for some time to come. In my opinion PDF occupies an  almost
oxymoronic  position as an "industry standard." If a format comes along that
is better than PDF I do not find it difficult to imagine that conversion
utilities would be available to do mass conversions of PDF to the new
format. I appreciate the archival concerns but I would also like to see more
adoption of electronic submission as a means of building national and
international collections of cutting-edge research usable now through
electronic access. It's nice that we've preserved this research but making
it more visible is also an important contribution to its diffusion.

Keith Morgan

--
Keith Morgan - Digital Library Initiatives
North Carolina State University Libraries
Raleigh, NC 27695-7111 Phone: 919.515.4221
[log in to unmask]
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/dli/