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16 Link 51 Mobile Shelving enhances the role of Historic London Archives Records and documents covering the needs of local government, 100 hospitals, schools, businesses and the residents of 1,000 parishes in the heart of London are now securely stored in a major Link 51 mobile shelving facility. The Archive of the City of London, London Metropolitan Archives, holds a vast amount of material – dating back as far as the 11th century – on more than 72kms of mobile shelving. Through a new installation by Link 51, based on the company’s latest ‘Stormor’ shelving design, an additional 13.5kms has been created compared to the previous installation with, remarkably, only a minimal increase in footprint requirements. The vast majority of material held is contained in boxes sized to meet the specific needs of the archive store. Much of the shelving is thus designed to specific dimensions to accommodate the maximum number of boxes and, alongside, larger material which is also stored including maps and plans relating to property ownership within the geographical area covered. The scale of the operation is demonstrated by the fact that some 3 million photographs alone are held at the site. “The recent refurbishment has enabled us to expand the record holding dramatically,” comments Technical Services Manager, Tim Harris, “the vast majority of which is now fitted with the Link 51 mobile shelving system. This comprises a total of 120 back-to-back shelving runs, each of which is between six and twelve bays in length. In turn, twelve shelf “There is an illusion being created that all the world’s knowledge is on the web,” Edward L. Ayers, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia, told The New York Times, which earlier this year published a detailed report covering the subject of archival digitisation. Ayers and others said that illusion is very far from being true and he also stated, “we haven’t begun to glimpse what is out there in local archives and libraries. Material that is not digitised risks being neglected as it would not have been in the past, and ultimately lost to the great majority of end users". Ayers’ comment focuses on a fact that is disturbing more and more historians and archivists. Where before the future of various media was of concern to most users, now with the assumption digitisation will take care of everything, the media that are not digitised may be forgotten and nothing done to protect them. Literally thousands of years of historical data could be lost in a few decades by neglect. While digitisation efforts of the last 10 years have been prodigious and well publicised (such as projects by Google, IBM and the Mormon Church’s Genealogical Society), they are far from complete. That holds true for paper documents, microfilms, CDs, computer tapes and other information originals. levels are available for storage in most of the facility – much of it kept ‘closed’ with only specific access aisles opened as required. It is this configuration that allows us to maximise the capacity of the available space.” The opening of each aisle is achieved with a lightweight, easy to use, ergonomicallydesigned hand wheel which moves shelving runs along parallel tracks set into a raised floor. Static shelving runs divide the facility into smaller areas and also create further storage at the end of the mobile layout. A number of key issues were addressed by the Link 51 design team as part of the installation process. These included fitting the shelving around roof support beams and also allowing sufficient space for the internal sprinkler system to be correctly located. Additionally, Only 10% of documents digitised The US Library of Congress, for example, admits that despite its continuing and ambitious digitisation efforts, perhaps only 10% of the 132 million objects held by the Library will be digitised in the foreseeable future. The big obstacle is cost, and it’s not the cost of scanning alone. In fact, the cost of scanning an object can be a relatively minor part of the entire expense of digitising and making an item accessible on-line. In addition, for recently published information, copyrights can present another major problem. The Library of Congress isn’t alone in its concern. At the US National Archives only a small fraction of 9 billion documents are likely to be digitised and put on-line. And at thousands of smaller locations and information sources around the US (as well as around the world), the bulk of potentially-digitisable materials are languishing on “old” media: i.e., paper, microfilm, LPs, CDs, computer tapes, etc. “Languishing” is the key word. Most of the meager funds available are going into digitisation, NOT preservation. “If researchers conclude that the only valuable records they need are on-line, they will be missing major parts of the story,” said James the history of the building, which for many years was home to heavy machinery and rolls of paper as a printing works, presented specific floor alignment issues which the Link 51 design has been able to accommodate. “As a local authority operation, there was a requirement for the London Metropolitan Archives to enter into a competitive tendering situation,” comments Link 51’s National Sales Manager, Bob Murphy, “so we are delighted to have won this highly prestigious contract. "We believe it is an excellent demonstration of our latest Stormor product which, because of its slim uprights, can create additional space that, across an installation of this size, can add up to a significant amount. The customer can also re-configure the system ‘in-house’ to suit changes in requirements – a capability which has already been used.” With a constant stream of requirements from users of the facility – including commercial, local government and the general public – the storage facility is now accessed continuously by the Archive’s Production Team. Mobile ladder access and an ‘Axxessor’ lift are used where appropriate to gain access to the higher levels. Overall, it is seen as an installation that reflects its standing as a highly important institution – both for the immediate London area and also as a repository of records of national significance. ■ Contact: Telephone 0800 169 5151 or visit www.link51.co.uk An archival information dilemma In a digital world, not everything is being digitised and some archival data is being lost forever. STORAGE J. Hastings, director of access programs at the National Archives. “And in some cases they will miss the story altogether.” A paradox As Hastings and others point out, the ultimate fate of many tons of information highlights one of the paradoxes of the digital age. While the internet boom has made information more accessible than ever before, that very fact also threatens records that don’t lend themselves easily to digitisation. In fact, they are more likely to be ignored than in the past. A new generation of researchers prefers to seek information almost exclusively on-line. That’s a trend that is hard to counter even though so much material is not digitised either because of cost or because the format of the information doesn’t lend itself easily to digitisation. Rather than seeking all information, many of the new generation of researchers stay with what’s available through their computer screens only. Happily there are also still many researchers who remember there is a wealth of vital information still on paper, microfilm, CDs, magnetic tapes, even on papyrus. ■ First published in the New York Times Visit the GSM Directory at www.greensheetmedia.com/directory
DocuWare 5.1 certified for storage solutions Network Appliance certifies DocuWare 5.1 for SnapLock Technology Network Appliance and DocuWare are cooperating and as part of this partnership, the specialist for Unified Storage Solutions has certified the seamless integration of the document management system with NetApp SnapLock storage technology. Companies are increasingly confronted with strict legal regulations regarding the storage of documents. One way, for example, to archive documents, e-mails and files over many years is provided by optical media such as CD and DVD. Another route is offered by storage specialist Network Appliance and its SnapLock technology which generates WORM volumes on hard disks. With DocuWare 5.1 and NetApp SnapLock, users have a low-cost solution for the longterm storage of critical company data. It combines the advantages of document Hewlett-Packard has thoroughly tested and certified the integration of its storage management solution, HP StorageWorks File System Extender, in DocuWare 5.1. This integrated solution manages automatic storage – even of large quantities of data – in central storage systems. The volume of documentation in companies is growing explosively. Systems for secure, long-term archiving that are also easy to install and administer are in high demand. A big advantage of the DocuWare document management system is its simple integration thanks to standardised interfaces for a wide variety of applications. Now Hewlett-Packard has successfully management - such as the archiving of all kinds of documents from a variety of sources in one central document pool - with the high access speed provided by a hard disk, further enhanced by the security of a WORM medium. Easily meeting Compliance Rules “Retaining and securing data for audit and compliance regulations have become necessary parts of business operations around the world. The ability to secure that data – and find it again in seconds – is critical to protecting information assets, achieving regulatory compliance, and meeting eDiscovery requests,” said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Solutions Marketing at NetApp. “DocuWare eases the task of pooling and managing all document types. This certification means customers will benefit from saving time, administration, tested and certified the integration of its storage management solution, HP StorageWorks File System Extender, in DocuWare 5.1. With HP StorageWorks File System Extender (FSE) Version 3.4, Hewlett- Packard is providing software for storage management that is both easy to use and reasonably priced. This back-end solution supports both disk and tape storage media as well as the most popular backup and recovery programmes. It can handle up to several hundred million files. Data can be automatically copied from hard disk to hard disk; even parallel copying is possible. In conjunction with the and infrastructure expenses – with the confidence that their data is tamper-proof.” Stefan Schindler, Director of DocuWare Limited welcomes the partnership: “For many customers, the seamless integration of a Document Management Solution within other products is an important purchasing criteria. The certification of DocuWare 5.1 by Network Appliance underscores once again the integration abilities of this integrated document management software." Network Appliance is a leading provider of innovative data management solutions that simplify the complexities of storing, managing, protecting and retaining enterprise data. Market leaders around the world choose NetApp to help them reduce cost, minimise risk, and adapt to change. ■ Visit www.netapp.com. Hewlett-Packard certifies DocuWare 5.1 for HP Backend Solution DocuWare document management system, users get a solution for long-term archiving that is strong enough to administer even large quantities of data in central storage systems. Hewlett-Packard focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $97.1 billion for the year ended April 30, 2007. ■ Visit www.hp.com. For more information on DocuWare, visit our website at www.docuware.com ATP announces the availability new Software Award-Winning Software allows for E-mail and Contacts Synchronization between PCs ATP, a leading manufacturer of flash media solutions, announced that the award winning Carry it Easy +Plus software will be pre-installed as a 30 day trial version on the new ATP ToughDrive Mini USB Drives. The preloaded software will allow ToughDrive Mini users to keep Outlook E-mail and Contacts synchronized and portable between PCs. Users will also be able to carry their personal Internet Favourites bookmarks with them. “As with all other ATP flash memory products, the new ToughDrive Mini offers protection from water/moisture, dust, static discharge, and extreme temperatures and is the perfect tool to carry important data, especially when it comes to confidential work documents, due to its compact, robust design. However, it is even more crucial to have data always be updated and be immediately available anytime you need it,” Visit the GSM Directory at www.greensheetmedia.com/directory said Danny Lin, ATP <strong>Executive</strong> Vice President. “With Carry it Easy +Plus software allowing for data synchronisation, important work information such as Outlook E-mail and Contacts has now become dynamic. This is a significant advantage especially for business professionals who travel constantly and therefore cannot afford having scattered data.” “The ToughDrive mini together with our award winning Carry it Easy +Plus software give users a great combination of hard and software. Keeping their data safe and in sync. while on the road.” said Roman Foeckl, Managing Director of CoSoSys In addition to the freedom of having Outlook E-mails and Contacts portable, Carry it Easy +Plus also offers File, Folder and Desktop synchronization feature that allows users to keep their work files on different PCs always up-to-date. The included compression functionality adds extra capacity to the USB Drive, allowing more data to be stored in compressed form. Most importantly the Carry it Easy +Plus software adds security to the ToughDrive mini by password protecting and partitioning the USB Drive. The ATP ToughDrive Mini is enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost, serving as an additional memory cache for an improved system performance. The solid synthetic polymer housing of ATP ToughDrive mini resists water and provides shock absorption. Users can also visit the ATP website at flash@atpinc.com to download the software. A license key to the full version of Carry it Easy +Plus can be purchased by ATP customers after an instant rebate of US$10 for just US$14.95. ■ For more information on ATP memory products, please email flash@atpinc.com or visit http://www.atpinc.com STORAGE 17
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Executive Editor, Green Sheet MEDIA

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