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E is for ecology

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A continuing series of digital preservation topics organized alphabetically.

 

I have always wanted to write something entitled, Everything I know about digital preservation, I learned in my garden.   I think it is because I have always perceived the practice and development around digital preservation to be organic.  A garden is the interaction among insects and birds, microorganisms, weather conditions, soil chemistry, plants and the gardener and results in an evolving landscape responding to seasonal change.  The digital preservation landscape has grown from many organizations cultivating  practices for digital preservation in the midst of very rapid technical, social and economic change.  The horizon we saw in 2001 was vastly different than what we see in 2011.

Azaleas in Spring
Azaleas in spring. M. Anderson.

I recently found a paper discussing the relevance of evolutionary theory for digital preservation that expresses some interesting ideas about the application of an ecological view to digital preservation. The authors state, “Taking an evolutionary view will …make clear that there is no such thing as digital permanence for eternity: some objects only have better chances to survive than others.”