Tuesday, March 4, 2008

What is DAT?


DAT is actually a digital audio tape. Some of you may remember them, others not. But, without archivers virtually no one will remember DAT in a hundred years or so. Who cares right? We have MP3 players and other digital recording devices, does it really matter if our great-great-great grandchildren remember DAT? I think it does. Pearl Buck said:"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday." DAT is just one example of the many things that are fading from our memory. Please post your thoughts and some examples of concepts or items that without archivers would become extinct and erased from memory.
(Photo courtesy of www.tapesource.com)

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Welcome Letter-Introduction

Welcome to the blog: An Archive of Archiving. The goal of this blog is to educate vistors on the role of archivers and to open a discussion about their activities. The life of an archivist has changed materially over the years, especially from phyical collections to digital collections. The Society of American Archivist(SAA) has a code of ethics and I would like to begin by quoting the stated purpose of an archivist.

"Archivists select, preserve, and make available historical and documentary records of enduring value"(SAA,2005).

What do you think is the role of an archivist? Please post your comments.

To read the entire SAA Code of Conduct visit:

http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp