Tuesday, October 18, 2005

digitalpermanence 2.0: Re-focused

It's no secret that, when dealing with electronic records and digital preservation, the problems one encounters start getting bigger and more complex. Indeed this truth has affected our digitalpermanence project. For one thing, the ambitious goals and plans we had initially were slowly (but, in a way, thankfully) subdued once the light of reality hit them. What started as a large-scale, campus-wide, "calling all electronic records" project has now been chiseled down and re-focused to a more palpable series of projects.

The University Archives digitalpermanence team has done many wonderful and amazing things in such a short period of time. Since January 2004, the dp team has combed the campus, examining both large and small offices and faculties, and took a thorough inventory of the extent and types of electronic records created on campus.

While our work was successful, and the results of tremendous value, now is the time to focus on electronic records projects that are relevant to the university community. We are now focusing our efforts on immediate campus needs: enterprise data, email management, and document imaging.

I think it's better this way: better for the project and for the people involved. The goal is to accomplish something more concrete, something applicable to the university community, something, in short, that will have an impact on the university.

Stay tuned. digitalpermanence 2.0 is moving ahead.

about the author

I am an information professional, researcher, and writer with over eight years experience in the information services field with experience in information and communication technology.

I have a B.A. in History and a Master's in Library and Information Studies and working on a Web and Multimedia Design certificate.

I believe that empowering people with information can enrich lives and transform the world.