Term Response: Technology and Archiving

Student Name Course Instructor Date Term Response Introduction I enjoyed listening to Dr. Rick Prelinger's presentation. It was an opportunity for me to learn more about archives. Before attending the presentation, I had little knowledge of the work Dr. Rick Prelinger has been doing. However, at the end of the presentation, I discovered how much archives are doing regarding preserving films. This term response summarizes what I learned from attending Dr. Rick Prelinger presentation on preserving films. Technology and Archiving It was interesting to know that technology plays a critical role in the archiving of films. Widely disseminated reports indicated that 90% of silent heritage films had disappeared due to improper storage (Prelinger 11). While these reports are exaggerated, they indicate the danger involved in the failure to preserve tapes. The reports created a fear that accelerated the process of preserving tapes. I learned that film tapes need to be first preserved in order to protect them. Some of the films cannot survive repeated plays. These must undergo one or another expensive process of digitization. Through digitization, the films can be converted to other formats that enable them to be stored for a longer time. Films that have a rich heritage are at risk of becoming extinct. Dr. Rick Prelinger noted that much of the history is not documented because it does not appear to be important. However, the idea that digital formats can hold relatively large amounts of data has made it possible to keep anything. As a result, Dr. Rick Prelinger and his team have made efforts to collect everything available. For instance, they collect home videos, amateur videos, government videos, etc. Having such films serves as a reminder to future generations how life was today. Although such videos do not seem important today, they will be critical for future generations. Dr. Rick Prelinger’s work is a reminder that individuals need to preserve their memories. Even items that do not seem important like diaries need to be kept well. Dr. Rick Prelinger’s presentation reminded me of the need to ensure that I keep my memories alive. I decided that I will Copyright and Digitization Digital information is changing how individuals learn and communicate information. It is also transforming how archives not only work but also the very work they undertake. Archives are slowly embracing this technology to take advantage of its benefits. Indeed, the digital conversation of archival materials has advanced in recent years. The move has caused some observers to think that everything can be found on the World Wide Web (Kannappanavar 61). However, this is far from the truth as archival materials are still far from a mouse click away. Prelinger (114) indicates that a majority of institutions continue to sequester their holdings “behind the walls of copyright, policy, or indifference.” This makes the materials inaccessible to the public. Although individuals would like to access archival materials through a quick web search, it is regrettable that a majority of archival materials are not available online. Prelinger (114) indicates that copyright maximalist and the reluctance to embrace technology has marginalized archival materials. It was amazing...