Any list obviously reflects the interests of the compiler, as well as the source and scope of the information considered. In this case, I turned to Slideshare and searched on “digital preservation.” Filtering by “this year,” yields the following, ranked in order. Digital Preservation and Social Media Outreach. Presentation given during the 17th Brazilian Conference of Archival Science in [...]
Thinking about digital recreation of reality has an inevitable association with the “whoa, dude, are we in a video game?” line of reasoning. This is good in some ways because it puts the issue into a context that’s easier to ponder for most of us. It even turns out that at least one NASA scientist [...]
This post is based on remarks I presented during a Digital Dialog at the University of Maryland, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities, on 9/25/2012. I believe that libraries, archives and museums share a common need to aggressively promote their social mission. While there are fundamental variances among these organizations, current trends are driving [...]
This post consists of edited remarks I gave to the 17th Brazilian Conference of Archival Science/XVII Congresso Brasileiro de Arquivologia held in Rio de Janeiro in June of this year. These remarks will be published in Portuguese as part of the conference proceedings. My original presentation was given using a set of slides, a copy [...]
There is a polite but persistent disagreement among librarians, archivists and other normally peaceful souls who care about keeping digital information accessible into the future. The conflict is low key, as one might expect: no one is occupying reading rooms, much less being led away in plastic handcuffs. But there are few signs that all [...]
Innovation is one of those words that is as loaded as it is inescapable. It appears constantly on billboards, TV commercials and political speeches. I’ll wager every big organization in the world lays claim to the concept through a mission statement or some other purported self-description. Our hopes for improved institutional outcomes–from schools, from hospitals, [...]
Your cultural heritage-related job has a rising probability of going away. Or, if you’re looking for such a job, you could have a tough time finding one. Saying this goes against my native optimism, but in surveying the current political landscape, it’s hard to come to a different conclusion. Most libraries, archives, museums, historical societies [...]
Digital preservation used to be the affair of a few geeky keepers who recognized the value of lonely, obscure data. But as information technology has spread across our culture, we are developing an intense, long-term relationship with digital content. Cyberspace When You’re Dead is a good example. “Suppose that just after you finish reading this [...]
I came across a rather amazing interview with Will Self on the BBC Open Book radio program. The subject was Self’s nominal opposition, along with a host of other well-known English writers, to the closing of public libraries in the UK for budgetary purposes. Self is a well-known writer and television personality recognized, according to [...]
The telephone call is now officially on its way to joining the telegram on the scrapheap of communications technology, according to The New York Times. Thank God for that. But before I vent on my feeling about phone calls, let me step back and attempt a bigger perspective. Nothing substitutes for direct conversation to accurately [...]