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July 15, 2008
Digital memory
Digital preservation is sometimes used as a means to transfer information from an obsolete (or on its way to being so) format into a digital version, with the intention of retaining the data before the information is completely lost. Ongoing hardware and software changes have lead to many obsolete formats, as with the original tape of the moon landing (related article, Wired 'One Giant Screwup for Mankind'). In the book Digital History (Cohen and Rosenzweig, 2006), the authors highlight the problems inherent to the multitude of digital formats used over the years, and recommend constant and continual assessment of the storage and retrieval systems involved in any digital project.
While they authors agree that digitization should not be viewed as a means of preservation, there is a point where digitization processes step in to provide a way to extend the content and data further than the lifespan of the original container. The access and use of the original content can then be extended by digitization methods. For example, an early radio recording from 1944, on a fragile audio reel, of Orson Welles narrating a program on jazz was digitized from the Louisiana State Museum collection in the Louisiana Digital Library. Previously, this material was limited only to research or staff use, since the reel was in poor condition. The digital copy was made as the original reel was being duplicated onto an archival reel. Oftentimes, the material or digital copy are used in place of the original to further ensure the longevity of the original object.
In Wharton, Texas, there is a museum of 20th century technology, which is interesting to see the progression of the technology in the relatively short time period of 100 years. Cohen and Rosenzwerg use the more recent examples of WordStar files from the 1980s and WordPerfect documents from the 1990s as being some of the problematic files to access even a decade or two later. The containers holding data may still be in fair condition, but if the reader necessary to access the information is not available, then the problem of finding a way to access the information arises. Emulations of long gone software programs are one solution to accessing files created with old programs, but this will also entail some loss of data. Cohen and Rosenzwerg recommend thorough research into better media formats and consistent migration to "avoid technological quicksand".
Another related article: Lost magazine, 'Are We Losing Our Memory? or The Museum of Obsolete Technology'
Posted by vad17 at July 15, 2008 02:15 PM
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