An archivist job has changed significantly over the last few decades. The biggest change has been the issue of archiving data that was originally created as digital medium; this includes websites, satellite images, digital recordings. The problem with this information is that it has shorter lifespans and is limited by technology constraints (Hodge, 2000). How many times have you found a great website and went back a month, a week, or even a day later to find it gone? Have you ever purchased software or computer games that no longer work with your new hardware? These are some of the issues archivist face everyday.
The International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) formed a committee to develop a model for digital archiving (Hodge,2000). The study focused on when, where, why, and how to best archive digital material. The group consisted of members from various countries and disciplines.
The job of an archivist really begins at the very beginning. If not, the item may not be available when an archivist wants it. The group suggested that the creator of the information should recommend the lifespan of the information (Hodge,2000). Who better to understand if information is necessary in the long run than the creator. For example, I write a weekly shopping list and toss it after I finish shopping. I don't feel it is necessary to archive this list. On the contrary, I keep a monthly budget. I archive each budget so I can analyze it at year end and make future projections. Having created the information, I know its usefulness.
Even if everyone thought everything should be archived, it would be virtually (no pun intended) impossible to do so. The archivist must still decide what is appropriate and necessary to archive.
In the case of websites, how much of the site do you archive? Do you archive the links to the site? The possibilities are endless, which makes the archivist job more difficult.
Once an archivist decides what to archive, the job is only half-done. At this point, several issues come into play: copyrights, cataloguing, and meta data (Hodge,2000).
Finally, the archivist has to think about access. Who and how will this be accomplished? It sounds exhausting to me. What do you think?
Hodge, G. (2000, January). Best practices for digital archiving. D-Lib Magazine, 6(1). Retrieved March 5, 2008, from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january00/01hodge.html
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4 comments:
I agree- it sounds exhausting. Are you finding any studies about cost effectiveness and how do facilities determine what they keep and what they don't? What about their discards? Are you seeing any connections there?
This is an interesting entry, and one that I had not thought about until I read your blog. I like the idea of the creator(s) deciding the lifespan of the content, but there are, of course,many questions about how that would realistically come to fruition. Were you able to find any results from the ICSTI committee? I look forward to reading more about this topic.
This issue grabbed my attention. I had not previously given much thought to the short lifespan of digital data. Information scientists need to address this issue. You have provided a lot of points to be considered. One thing is especially true -- the amount of information that is available digitally is growing geometrically. It cannot all be saved. How is the decision making process carried out? Or is it being decided at all -- or being left to chance. There is a big movement to move hard copy to be digitized and preserved. But the flip side of preservation (archiving) of digital data is not often addressed in literature on info science that I am aware of.
You bring up a good point. I don't have an answer to that problem, but it does have to be addressed. In terms of archiving, the downside of technological advancements is that the medium itself becomes outdated and there is no longer any way to even access the information. How do you listen to an 8-track recording, or listen to a recording on a reel-to-reel tape from the 1950's? It would have to be transferred to a current-day medium for archiving. Then, it would have to be transferred again when that medium became outdated. You do have to admire the long-lasting nature of paper books or clay tablets. They are good for thousands of years under the right conditions.
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