Digital File Longevity

Resources compiled by Julian Jackson

This subject is relatively new and there are not many sources dealing with the longevity of digital image files. The sites below list many a variety of sites which will be helpful in finding out more. Howard Besser of UCLA, in particular, has written much on the subject and compiled links to other useful resources

Resource Links:

Papers and Analysis of Problems

• Information Longevity Besser, Howard: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Longevity

• Besser, Howard. Digital longevity, in Maxine Sitts (ed.) Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation and Access, Andover MA: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2000, pages 155-166 http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/sfs-longevity.html
• Besser, Howard. Longevity of Electronic Art, submitted to International Cultural Heritage Informatics Meeting, 2001 http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/elect-art-longevity.html
• Besser, Howard. Digital Preservation of Moving Image Material?, submitted to The Moving Image, Fall 2001 http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/amia-longevity.html
• Digital Collections: A strategic policy framework for creating and preserving digital collections by Neil Beagrie and Daniel Greenstein, UK's Arts and Humanities Data Service, July 1998 http://www.ahds.ac.uk/about/publications/index.htm
• Preservation 2000: An International Conference on the Preservation and Long Term Accessibility of Digital Materials, 6-8 December 2000, York, http://www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=247

• Task Force on the Archiving of Digital Information

  http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF/

Other sources:

Journal of Electronic Publishing: http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/
Joint Information Systems Committee http://www.jisc.ac.uk.
Sepia (European group investigating preservation of photos) http://www.knaw.nl

PRESERVATION MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL MATERIALS: A HANDBOOK
by Maggie Jones and Neil Beagrie

Published by THE BRITISH LIBRARY October 2001
Price £15.00 Paperback, 145 pages, 297x210mm, ISBN 0 7123 0886 5

Julian Jackson is an internet consultant and writer, specialising in the Photographic industry. His website is www.julianjackson.co.uk. He publishes two essential eBooks: Picture Research in a Digital Age 2 and Internet Marketing for Photographers, which are available from his website:http://www.julianjackson.co.uk