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Our museum photography department has been phasing out the use of traditional film in favor of digital format for the photography of events and social functions. We continue to use film (as well as digital capture) for the documentation of collections objects. The library is the archival repository for our organization and the staff has serious concerns about the longterm accessibility of digital images. I would appreciate hearing from others dealing with a similar situation with suggestions or comments on how this should be dealt with. Can we depend on digital images to remain viable? Are they acceptables surrogates for film? Does the VRA has a particular stand in this issue? I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Frances B. Clymer Librarian McCracken Research Library Buffalo Bill Historical Center Cody, Wyoming [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Marianne Cavanaugh [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 8:44 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [ARLIS-L] 2002 Conference Preview--Transporation info Happy New Year! We hope that all of you are beginning to make your plans to attend the first ever ARLIS/NA-VRA joint national conference, which will be held in St. Louis in just a few short months, on March 21 - 26, 2002. Perhaps the first step in the process of planning any trip is making travel arrangements. To assist you in your plans, we would like to inform you of the many ways you can get to St. Louis. As"The Gateway to the West," St. Louis is a major transportation hub and easy to get to from any corner of the country! Just minutes from downtown, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is serviced by 10 major domestic airlines and 10 foreign airlines, and is an American Airlines and Southwest Airlines hub. If you are interested in flying Southwest airlines, it is best to look at their company site for deals, since they don't always list with major bargain sites like Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) and Expedia ( www.expedia.com ) . For those of you visiting us from west of the Mississippi, rumor has it that there are often bargains to be had on American West. All bargain-hunting tips aside (and we hope you get one!), Lambert Airport is easy to fly into, and has the added benefit of being the end of the line for Metrolink, St. Louis' safe, clean, and easy-to-use light rail system. Trains from the airport to St. Louis run every few minutes, and a brief ride will take you straight to the conference hotel for a mere $3, leaving breathing room to enjoy other St. Louis attractions! If you prefer an airport shuttle service or taxi, there are plenty to be had at a higher price (plan on at least $30 each way for a taxi, $10 each way for service from GEM shuttle). Lambert Airport's website will help you navigate the airport and provides information on how to use each of the ground transportation options we've described. For those of you who prefer to travel closer to the ground, AMTRAK provides daily service to our city on five of its transcontinental lines. Located a few short blocks from Union Station, a walkable distance for those who don't mind trekking our city roads and sidewalks, our AMTRAK station (o.k., more of a trailer) isn't pretty but it works! See www.amtrak.com for more information. St. Louis is also home to twenty-four hour service from Greyhound ( www.greyhound.com ). The station is about a mile away from the conference hotel, and like many bus stations is not in the greatest neighborhood. We don't want to scare you, but we don't want you to be surprised, either! However, it is a busy bus station and enjoys the benefit regular cab service. So you want to drive to St. Louis? Fortunately, an easy-to-use (really!) network of interstate highways runs through our city, including I-64, I-70, I-44, and I-55. While you can get here from anywhere on a highway (Chicago, Memphis, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Kansas City are a 5 hour or less drive away), let us know if you would like a scenic route and we will make recommendations. Route 66 winds through our city, and the "Great River Road" is the midwest's equivalent to California's highway 101, without the hairpin turns. Once you arrive, many of St. Louis' best neighborhoods and sites are within reach by using the Metrolink, which is $ 1.25 one way from any station other than the airport. The central downtown site of our hotel (and its convenient location within The Union Station shopping and entertainment complex) means that many excellent restaurants and other cultural offerings are within walking distance. Many attractions off of the beaten path are included in our extensive tour offerings. If you still elect to rent a car to explore St. Louis, visit our local Convention and Visitor's Center website at www.explorestlouis.com/transportation/ to learn more about the whos and wheres of renting a car in our city. As always, please feel free to contact us as you make your travel plans. We are here to help make your visit to St. Louis as enjoyable as possible, and we look forward to sharing our city with you. Marianne Cavanaugh and Betha Whitlow