When was the last time you accessed collection material on an optical media format, if ever? At the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, circulation for these formats - including CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, and others - peaked in the 1990s and 2000s, but they still see regular use today. While these formats are increasingly considered obsolete, they are still present in the Music Library's collections, as well as in other special and circulating collections across Yale.

This event aims to open questions about optical media formats in Yale Library collections by focusing on one specific optical media format within the Music Library: CD-ROMs. Staff from the Music Library and the Software Preservation and Emulation unit will take a closer look at these formats and attempt to better understand them through questions like: What types of resources are represented by this format? Why were they collected by the Library, and how were they used? Why do they remain at the Library, and how do we want to enable access to them today?

Joining us as panelists will be:

• Suzanne Lovejoy, Music Librarian for Access and Research Services, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library
• Eric Sonnenberg, Digital Archivist, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library
• Claire Fox, Software Preservation and Emulation Librarian, Preservation and Conservation Services

This event will be open to the public and be recorded. The recording will be distributed on the Library's Born Digital Archives Advisory Group (BDAAG) mailing list, which is open to Yale Library staff, and to event registrants.