---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 10:46:05 -0500
From: Scott Gillies <gillies@ALEXIA.LIS.UIUC.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list SEREDIT <SEREDIT@uvmvm.uvm.edu>
Subject: preservation of electronic information

Dear Group (Please forgive the cross-posting),

I am doing some research on the long-term dependability of access to
electronic text and other types of electronic information and
resources.  As part of this study, I would greatly appreciate it if
the subscribers to this discussion would give some attention to the
following questions and return their answers to me.  You need not
identify yourself or your institution, but you may if you would like.
You may answer any, all or none of the questions below (or volunteer
any other information!!).

I am greatly concerned with the dependability of access to electronic
information - particularly of the Internet variety.  The results of my
queries will become part of a more or less impressionistic report on
the subject to be shared at the annual conference of the AAASS this
fall.

There is practically no literature available on this subject, and any
replies will be VERY valuable to me and greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance, and PLEASE REPLY DIRECTLY TO ME RATHER THAN THE
GROUP!

Scott Gillies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
gillies@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu

1.  What type of institution are you, or are you an individual?

2.  Do you or does your institution mount files which are accessible
through a network?

3.  Are these files produced by you or your institution or do they
originate elsewhere (i.e. archived journals)?

4.  Do you depend on renewable funding to maintain these files?

5.  What would you do with the files if the funding were no longer
available?

6.  How do you maintain access to files if they need to be moved to a
different location?

7.  Do you keep tape or other type of backups of your files?

8.  Does your institution have a written policy regarding preservation
of access to these files in some form or other?

9.  Do you maintain a Web site?

10.  What types of information do you provide there?

11.   What types of services/information do you provide links to?

12.  If and when sites to which you point move or disappear, do you
record this information for users of your site?

13.  If you could no longer maintain your Web site, what would you do?

14.  Do you or does your institution engage in publication of
electronic journals or other type of periodical?

15.  How are they made available?

16.  Is there a written policy regarding continued access to your
publication across the network?

17.  Do you maintain backups of your publication on tape?  disk?
print?

18.  Do you archive back copies of your publications or make them
available electronically in some way?

19.  Do you provide access to electronic resources from an online
catalogue?

20.  Are these resources catalogued and classified (do they have a
call number)?

Please add anything else that you feel is important or might be
pertinent to the discussion.

Thanks again.