Digital Preservation and The Polar Bear Expedition

Up until very recently, the records of humanity were recorded upon physical mediums. Stone, wood, papyrus, and animal skins, have all been used as a means for humans to record their everyday lives as well as their history. As we continue into the new age of 'digital revolution', we must recognize the direction historic preservation is going as well as gain an understanding of the new methods and tools of the field.

Floppy Disks were once the vision of the future.

This weeks readings examine the present state of digital preservation and the what the future may hold for it. One of the main concerns with the future of digital preservation is the ever changing formats in which we store our information. It is easy enough to comprehend when we observe the obsolete storage technology of the recent past like floppy disks. Jerome P. McDonough from Science Daily reports the possibility of a "Digital Dark Age" if efforts are not made to curb the fragility of the current digital storage medium. In order to avoid such a dark age, there must be a common storage method that crosses technological boundaries. This goal seems to be more and more in focus as our technology improves.

This weeks case study, the Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections, a project launched by the University of Michigan, is used as an example of a digital collections database that has made efforts to incorporate updated digital technology to improve an already existing digital database.

The Polar Bear expedition

The field of digital preservation is expanding as the demand for digital archivists grows every year. An article by Conrad De Aenlle in the New York Times addresses this growth in the profession. The article predicts the eventual switch from traditional methods of library science, and analogue storage, to digital storage. As for the present, it seems historians must move with the times to keep up with the ever changing mediums of digital storage.