A guide to managing data in the digital age.
Winner of the ALCTS Outstanding Publication Award by the Association for
Library Collections & Technical Services, Winner of the Waldo Gifford
Leland Award by the Society of American Archivists
Many people believe that what is on the Internet will be around forever.
At the same time, warnings of an impending "digital dark age"--where
records of the recent past become completely lost or
inaccessible--appear with regular frequency in the popular press. It's
as if we need a system to safeguard our digital records for future
scholars and researchers. Digital preservation experts, however, suggest
that this is an illusory dream not worth chasing. Ensuring long-term
access to digital information is not that straightforward; it is a
complex issue with a significant ethical dimension. It is a vocation.
In The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation, librarian Trevor
Owens establishes a baseline for practice in this field. In the first
section of the book, Owens synthesizes work on the history of
preservation in a range of areas (archives, manuscripts, recorded sound,
etc.) and sets that history in dialogue with work in new media studies,
platform studies, and media archeology. In later chapters, Owens builds
from this theoretical framework and maps out a more deliberate and
intentional approach to digital preservation.
A basic introduction to the issues and practices of digital
preservation, the book is anchored in an understanding of the traditions
of preservation and the nature of digital objects and media. Based on
extensive reading, research, and writing on digital preservation,
Owens's work will prove an invaluable reference for archivists,
librarians, and museum professionals, as well as scholars and
researchers in the digital humanities.
