The theory and craft of digital preservation /Trevor Owens.
- Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, (c)2018.
- 1 online resource (x, 226 pages) : illustrations
Includes bibliographies and index.
Introduction: Beyond digital hype and digital anxiety -- Preservation's divergent lineages -- Understanding digital objects -- Challenges and opportunities of digital preservation -- The craft of digital preservation -- Preservation intent and collection development -- Managing copies and formats -- Arranging and describing digital objects -- Enabling multimodal access and use -- Conclusions: tools for looking forward.
"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 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."--Provided by publisher.
9781421426983
Digital preservation. Digital libraries--Management.