Motivation to Contribute

to the NOAA Archives

 

Short-term Bonuses

 

Redundant storage

            9/11 and Katrina are strong reminders of our vulnerability.  Providing a copy of your data to NOAA ensures security.  The copies given to NOAA are maintained at two locations: Silver Spring, MD and Asheville, NC.  Risk of loss is minimized.

 

Refer services

          If your busy schedule makes responding to requests for copies of your data a tedious task, then refer requestors on to NOAA!

 

Good will

          We all know life is a continuum of give and take.  By contributing your data to the public repository, you are helping your community.  The more folks buy into this good will exchange, the better the chances are that you will find the data set you need the next time you are desperately searching online catalogs.

 

Long-term Advantages

 

Storage issue

          People are finite.  Computers are finite.  Most certainly diskettes and CDs have finite shelf lives.  NODC provides the service of periodically copying the data holdings to the most contemporary storage media.  Just over a decade ago that was 9-track magnetic tapes!  Technology will always change and NODC will change with it, ensuring your data are propagated well into the distant future.

 

Legacy lives on

          Most scientists consider their legacy to be carried forth only in their publications.  But your data holdings also carry your name, which is clearly maintained with each data set.  Many centuries from now folks will remember you favorably for your important data contributions.