User:Hmoniz/sandbox

Digital Archives

Both the concept and practice of ‘archives’ began in ancient Greece and originated from the Greek word ‘arkeion’ which initially was used to describe the house or domicile of the state magistrate, the ‘archon’, who was a powerful citizen that “possess[ed] the right to make or to represent the law.”[i] On a count of their publicly recognized authority, their home became the ‘arkeion’ in which official documents were filed, thus making the ‘archon’ the “first of all the document guardians”[ii] and the ‘arkeion’ the first known physical ‘archive’ in the Western world. An archives is described by the Society of American Archivists as a place dedicated to preserving “permanently valuable records” that many times are primary in nature, meaning that they contain firsthand experiences, facts, data and evidence and can include everything from letters, reports, notes, memos, and photographs, to government documents, maps and testimonies.[iii] The role of the archives is to not only preserve these records but to manage them in a way that ensures their future use and utility, while making these records available to certain communities, institutions or groups of individuals, depending on their own specific management principles or protocols.

Archiving as a practice has been a key component to governments, businesses, institutions and peoples for thousands of years and are widely used to both validate the present and interpret the past and continues to be a driving force behind law and policy creation, academic research, and family and cultural identity. However, these physical spaces can become overwhelmingly large, as virtually all archives are constantly challenged with having to ensure enough space for their growing collections, or having to ensure continued space for them as well. Because of this, many archives began to “reformat” their physical records, “reformatting” here referring to the process of digitization in which physical records are transformed and saved into a digital medium, usually for their preservation.[iv] A digital archives, then, is an archives that exists entirely in a digital medium. A main benefit of this digitization practice is that digital archiving usually takes up much less storage space than traditional methods for archiving and can make different, traditional tasks of archiving, such as locating records and preventing loss of data, easier too. This is because digital archives can allow for information to be located simply by use of a search bar, while allowing for more safeguards to be put in place in terms of loss of archives with the inclusion of digital backups and copies that can store huge amounts of records and information and can be housed at several different locations at once to ensure further safeguarding. With the mass movement towards all things digital, the creation of “born-digital” [v]

records and archives were born, these are records that were “natively created”[vi] in a digital format, rather than digitized from paper or physical format, early examples including things like e-mails and text-based documents such as Word or Google documents.

While there are many benefits related to digital archives such as less needed space, lower operating costs, wider access and more methods for safeguarding through the use of multiple copies, there are still several drawbacks unique to the digital environment. Primary drawbacks include issues with record fixity and digital obsolescence. Record fixity refers to “the assurance that a digital file remains unchanged,”[vii] and doesn’t only apply to files but to any digital object that has a series of bits inside it where a ‘bitsteam’ needs to be kept intact so that a file can remain readable and unchanged, leading to file corruption when not ensured. Digital obsolescence refers to a situation where a digital resource is no longer readable in its specific format and is quite a common phenomenon with the rapid evolution of technology that continues to change daily. While these issues remain a problem unique to digital archiving, the field itself, and its usefulness, continues to grow.

Analytic Rational for Entry

For this encyclopedia entry I struggled to write the above definition in layman’s terms, trying to make it informative yet easy to understand for a wide range of audiences. Although the encyclopedia entry was focused on digital archives I felt like it was important to start at the very origin of the word archives itself, then elaborating on the original physical space and profession before opening up a description of a digital archives and its related, unique digital environment. By learning how to explain this concept simply I feel like I, myself, understand it better. I wanted to make it an entry that was informative but concise as well, as per the assignment prompt and nature of an encyclopedia entry. While doing my research I found that different professional groups such as the Society of American Archivists and monumental information institutions such as the Library of Congress were good resources for understanding and then explaining this specific concept as well.

Annotated Bibliography of Additional Materials

The 2nd edition of the Digital Preservation Handbook (2020) by the Digital Preservation Coalition, provides an incredibly detailed look at both the field and practice of digital preservation and is intended to “provide a synthesis of current thinking on digital preservation issues, distinguish between major issues within the field and to help clarify how various issues within the field will impact the various stages of the life-cycle of digital materials”. This resource was chosen for its incredibly simple yet informative way of explaining digital preservation that gives both a largely inclusive overview of the practice while still breaking down smaller issues embedded within it. This resource is complex enough to greatly help informational professionals focused within this field of digital preservation while accessible enough to inform those who are complete novices.

'Digital Preservation Coalition.Digital Preservation Handbook, 2nd ed..'' Digital Preservation Coalition. 2020. Accessed on February 20, 2020. https://www.dpconline.org/handbook .'''

The Society of American Archivist’s flyer What is an Archive (2019) is an incredibly helpful resource that gives an overview, definition and background on what an archive is, using a wide array of historical instances and institutions that have comprised them. It is especially useful, not only for its straightforward explanation that is easy to understand and follow, but because it does so using interesting past examples specific to our countries history. By framing something that sometimes is too abstract or complicated for some through these simple examples, a foundation of archiving and specifically what an archive is, can be utilized as a basis for understanding digital archives.

'''Society of American Archivists. What is an Archive?. 2019. Accessed on February 20, 2020. http://files.archivists.org/advocacy/AAM/WhatIsAnArchives.pdf '''

This resource, Technical Standards for Digital Conversion of Text and Graphic Materials (2019) by the Library of Congress gives a detail look at the process of digital preservation, specifically looking at practices and protocols for digital “reformatting” a hallmark of this discipline. Within this journal article, the Library of Congress gives out important standards for all aspects of digital preservation, from digital conservation, scanning for use of digital reformation and plans for long-term, digital care. This resource was selected for its slightly more advanced and detailed approach to the field, a record of authority, especially when the insight, practice and know-how of the Library of Congress is considered.

'''Library of Congress. ''Technical Standards for Digital Conversion of Text and Graphic Materials. 2019. Accessed on February 20, 2020. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/about/techStandards.pdf '

[i] Jacques Derrida, Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression, Chicago University Press, Chicago 1996.

[ii] Jacques Derrida, Archive Fever

[iii] Society of American Archivists, What is an Archive?, http://files.archivists.org/advocacy/AAM/WhatIsAnArchives.pdf

[iv] Library of Congress, Technical Standards for Digital Conversion of Text and Graphic Materials, 2007, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/about/techStandards.pdf.

[v] T Ries, G Palkó, Born-Digital Archives, International Journal of Digit Humanities 1, 1–11 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42803-019-00011.

[vi] National Archives of the United Kingdom, “Born-Digital Records and Metadata”, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/manage-information/digital-records-transfer/what-are-born-digital-records/

[vii] Jefferson Bailey, 2014, “Protect Your Data: File Fixity and Data Integrity”, The Signal. http://blogs.loc.gov/thesignal/2014/04/protect-your-data-file-fixity-and-data-integrity.