[QuadList] Library of Congress and quads - the First Hand

[Don Norwood]

Hi James:

Thanks for your informative reply.  My observation was not intended to be 
offensive, it was simply based on what is happening, not what could happen 
under other circumstances such as an influx of funding.  I'm sure you 
realize that "gathering dust" is a figure of speech, and was not meant 
literally.  However, the individuals whom I credited with first hand 
information were exactly that although they have likely dealt with people 
other than yourself regarding technical matters, not the "technical budgets 
and planning" for which you are responsible.  You may be totally unaware of 
their interactions with Culpeper, but they were not "bystanders" in those 
instances.

Yes, the Congress and the administration certainly are dysfunctional. 
Having been a public employee myself when I first encountered quads many 
years ago, I'm well aware of the challenges of working in the public sector. 
Likewise, in recent years, the private sector has had to adapt to a vastly 
different economy that I suspect we would all like to see improve.  It's a 
challenge for everyone, public and private, to set priorities and evaluate 
how we do things and how we can do them better, and generally at lower cost. 
Obviously, having the right resources is crucial.

And that brings us back to the AVR-1.  I found the comments regarding what 
machines might be best suited for archival work to be very interesting.  I 
have to agree that when everything is working, an AVR-1 is very impressive, 
both in terms of its signal quality and its tape handling.  I also know that 
when something goes wrong with it, it can go very wrong.  Some of the 
original design criteria, such as the ability to roll and take the machine 
simultaneously, adds a great deal of complexity to the design, and has no 
practical application for archival work.  In fact, it seems that the 
magnitude of damage that could be inflicted on an irreplaceable reel of tape 
would potentially be far greater with a malfunctioning AVR-1 than with any 
other machine.

Ted offered the analogy "One can plan to go to the grocery store to re-stock 
the fridge, but without money in the bank or gas in the car, its not likely 
to happen as planned".  That certainly applies to the budget situation. 
I'll submit that along with that wise observation, while it might be nice if 
the car were a Rolls-Royce, I suspect that there are more practical 
vehicles.  A continued discussion of the pro's and con's of the various 
quads used for archival work could be very interesting.  I'm not sure there 
is a single, right answer, but considering different viewpoints is always 
worthwhile.

Don