can be useful in this field by using
the techniques outlined by the
preservation groups and by studying the experiences of people like
Jim Boulton and his digital archaeology exhibit.
When we look back at history,
we can see that man-made and
environmental catastrophes have
caused destruction of countless
texts and artifacts: the fire that
destroyed the Library of Alexandria,
the Nazi book burning and destruction of what was regarded as degenerate art. Destruction of libraries also occurred in the American
Revolutionary War and the American
Civil War. It’s troubling to see something so important in our history
becoming so overlooked in modern
times. We see local communities
slowly deconstructing their physical libraries. Blog companies dropping support or changing technologies. Publishers writing APPs that
become outdated with upgrades
just months later. Proprietary file
formats that are unreadable to
many. It’s my hope that publishers and librarians will be wise to
preserve digital-born materials as
innovation of the World Wide Web
speeds along. Communities in 20,
100 or 1,000 years deserve to and
should be able to observe their own
history. Librarians and archivists
REFERENCES
1. Weiss, Rick. “On the Web, Research
Work Proves Ephemeral” The Washington
Post, November 24, 2003, p. A08, Print.
2. John Clute and Peter Nicholls, The
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, St. Martin’s
Press, 1993, ISBN 0-312-09618-6, p. 178,
“Tarzan is a remarkable creation, and possibly the best-known fictional character of the
century.”
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