Volume 33, Issue 1

One of the marvels of the information technology revolution is the continuous improvement in computer memory and storage performance and their simultaneous drop in cost. Thanks to what has been called “silicon scaling” the process power of a 1980s vintage mainframe computer now fits on miniscule silicon chips that can be embedded in any number of capture devices from complex remote sensors to consumer digital cameras. Digital storage devices and media have benefited from similar performance improvements and cost declines. Large organizations routinely add terabytes of storage capacity, and more and more individuals can afford laptop and desktop computers with tens of gigabytes of storage. One might suspect that archiving and preserving digital information would become easier and cheaper as a consequence of these improvements. But from a long-term preservation perspective, there is a dark side to the rapid growth in digital information. The technologies, strategies, methodologies, and resources needed to manage digital information for the long term have not kept pace with innovations in the creation and capture of digital information.

The Workshop on Research Challenges in Digital Archiving and Long-term Preservation Recognizing repeated concerns over the current state of knowledge about long-term digital preservation, the National Science Foundation and the Library of Congress convened a workshop entitled “Research Challenges in Digital Archiving and Long-term Preservation” in April 2002. The main goals of the workshop were to identify the research challenges in digital archiving and long-term preservation; set priorities for research based on input from stakeholders; and propose mechanisms that could build a community of researchers and foster cross-fertilization among research projects. The workshop consisted of plenary presentations and discussions of the various challenges in digital archiving as well as small group sessions to define and set priorities for research. It also provided an opportunity for experts in computer science, mass storage systems, archival science, digital libraries, and information management to discuss obstacles to preserving digital information with government managers and other stakeholders. This report presents a summary of the workshop discussions and recommendations for future research projects.