This is a guest post collectively written by the XFR Collective (pronounced “transfer collective”), a grass-roots digitization and digital-preservation organization. They work with artists and media creators to rescue and preserve digital works, utilizing open, free platforms — such as the Internet Archive — for long-term preservation and access. We featured them in two previous …
The Smithsonian Transcription Center creates indexed, searchable text by means of crowdsourcing…or as Meghan Ferriter, project coordinator at the TC describes it, “harnessing the endless curiosity and goodwill of the public.” As of the end of the current fiscal year, 7,060 volunteers at the TC have transcribed 208,659 pages. The scope, planning and execution of the …
The presentations at the Library of Congress’ Collections As Data conference coalesced into two main themes: 1) digital collections are composed of data that can be acquired, processed and displayed in countless scientific and creative ways and 2) we should always be aware and respectful that data is manipulated by — and derived from — people. …
When The Signal debuted in 2011, its focus was exclusively on the challenge of digital preservation, which is why its URL was http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation. The Signal was a forum for news and information about digital preservation — unique problems and solutions, standards, collaborations and achievements. The Signal’s authors interviewed leaders in the field, profiled colleagues and …
The annual Personal Digital Archiving conference is about preserving any digital collection that falls outside the purview of large cultural institutions. Considering the expanding range of interests at each subsequent PDA conference, the meaning of the word “personal” has become thinly stretched to cover topics such as family history, community history, genealogy and digital humanities. New York …
Many institutions and individuals that use CDs as a storage medium are now concerned because information technologists have deemed the medium to be unsuitable for long-term use. As a result, institutions are racing to get the data off the discs as quickly and safely as possible and into a more reliable digital storage environment. Two …
Digital Preservation 2014 is hosting such a rich variety of presentations that we at the Signal want to preview some of them for you. Today, as part of our Insights Interview series, we present a Q&A with Bradley Daigle, director of Digital Curation Services and digital strategist for Special Collections at the University of Virginia …
The fifth annual Personal Digital Archiving conference is on April 10-11 and you can still register online until tomorrow, April 1. This conference attracts a variety of information-technology professionals with a range of digital-preservation interests, mainly oriented toward the needs of individuals rather than the digital collections of cultural institutions. Topics include – but are …
During Preservation Week 2013, I gave a webinar about personal digital archiving. Over 600 people participated and, during the post-presentation question section, 91 people submitted questions online. I had time to answer about a dozen or so. After the webinar, the hosts from the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services sent me the complete …
