Abstract
The aim of this article is to discuss the implications of the concept of sustainability in relation to digital documentary heritage. The concept of sustainability is not widely used in this context, but its underlying meaning – the ability to be maintained over time – is embodied in the notion of preservation, defined as all measures necessary to keep a resource permanently accessible. Starting from the observation that access to documents, although central, is most often understood only in technical terms, this article argues that reconsidering access as a multifaceted concept is necessary in order to conceptualize the requirements of sustainability in the context of digital documentary heritage. First, the field of documentary heritage is introduced, placing emphasis on digital documents and their characteristics. Second, the current meanings of sustainability in this context are clarified, relating it to the notions of preservation and access. Third, the limits of approaching access in physical terms are discussed and why it is a multifaceted concept is explained. To this end, notions such as motivational access, skills and usage access and cultural access are introduced. Finally, the paper concludes by suggesting that reconsidering the notion of access is necessary for achieving sustainability of digital documentary heritage. It is even a prerequisite thereof.
This paper is based on research carried out in the context of a doctoral dissertation. See Anca Claudia Prodan, The Digital “Memory of the World”: An Exploration of Documentary Practices in the Age of Digital Technology, available at https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-btu/frontdoor/index/index/docId/3013; parts of this paper were presented at the conference “The Memory of the World in the Digital Age: Digitization and Preservation”, organized by UNESCO and the University of British Columbia in 2012, and were published in the conference proceedings.
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Notes
- 1.
For the purpose of this article, digital technology is used as a generic term to refer to computer and Internet technologies.
- 2.
First guidelines were suggested in 1993 by Arnoult. They served as basis for drafting the first official guidelines, which were adopted in 1995. They were revised in 2002, this still being the version used today.
- 3.
The University of British Columbia.
- 4.
From a purely technical perspective, scholars speak about the above-mentioned dimensions, but the Guidelines for the Preservation of Digital Heritage focusing on digital heritage rather than digital documents notes a fourth dimension, i.e. “bundles of essential elements that embody the message, purpose, or features for which the material was chosen for preservation” (National Library of Australia 2003: 35).
- 5.
It should be specified that this method, known as migration, is not the only one, with emulation, or technology preservation representing further examples. However, usually authors refer to this method in order to illustrate changes triggered by digital technology.
- 6.
There are exceptions, for example, audio and video tape which contain unstable chemical binders. Even if stored in proper conditions, the chemical binder degrades over time, causing the tape to break into pieces or crumble to dust. Acidic paper faces a similar situation.
- 7.
The concept of Western, although being an overgeneralization, is employed in this context to refer to the developed countries from Europe and North America.
- 8.
It is a concept referring to the design of a computer so that it is usable by all people.
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Prodan, A.C. (2017). The Sustainability of Digital Documentary Heritage. In: Albert, MT., Bandarin, F., Pereira Roders, A. (eds) Going Beyond. Heritage Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57165-2_5
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