Shane asks:
Are physical media still used to store information for the future?
They sure are, to both store and share information! Physical media encompasses so many types of items: books, newspapers, magazines, letters, photographs, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, film reels, records, wax cylinders, clay tablets, paintings, textiles, baskets, tombs, artifacts… the list goes on. Not only do we have historical examples to preserve, but papers and letters are still being written, books are still being published and read, photos are still being taken with film cameras (and indeed digital photos are printed and shared), and various audio visual formats are still being used to hold files. In fact, the physical holdings of any library, museum, gallery, and archive is nothing but information being stewarded for the future.
Digital media are surely here to stay, and many collecting institutions have programs to collect and preserve digitized and born-digital items. But it’s important to realize that without the hardware and software to store and access digital media, they’re lost to us as surely as if the information had burned in the library of Alexandria. And even as the world moves more and more towards digital media, there are various instances where it is currently not feasible to have everything fully digitized. Storage space is expensive, as is the staff expertise and the equipment to access it. Not everyone will be able to afford to reformat and store information in the cloud, so there will always be information on physical media.
No matter if it is a physical item or a digital file stored on a physical item, proper storage will help extend the life of the item. Good storage choices can have a big impact on long term preservation of items of all kinds. Aiming to have proper housing for the item as well as control over the temperature and humidity in the storage space is key to ensuring that the items we steward will outlast us.
More resources
Library of Congress Collections Care overview
NEDCC Preservation Leaflets
National Park Service Conserve-o-grams
Preservation Self-Assessment Program from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Library and Archives Preservation 