4 research outputs found
Digital transformations and the archival nature of surrogates
Large-scale digitization is generating extraordinary collections of visual
and textual surrogates, potentially endowed with transcendent long-term cultural
and research values. Understanding the nature of digital surrogacy is a substantial
intellectual opportunity for archival science and the digital humanities, because of
the increasing independence of surrogate collections from their archival sources.
The paper presents an argument that one of the most significant requirements for the
long-term access to collections of digital surrogates is to treat digital surrogates as
archival records that embody traces of their fluid lifecycles and therefore are worthy
of management and preservation as archives. It advances a theory of the archival
nature of surrogacy founded on longstanding notions of archival quality, the traces
of their source and the conditions of their creation, and the functional ‘‘work of the
archive.’’ The paper presents evidence supporting a ‘‘secondary provenance’’
derived from re-digitization, re-ingestion of multiple versions, and de facto
replacement of the original sources. The design of the underlying research that
motivates the paper and summary findings are reported separately. The research has
been supported generously by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services.Institute for Museum and Library ServicesPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111825/1/J26 Conway Digital Transformations 2014-pers.pdfDescription of J26 Conway Digital Transformations 2014-pers.pdf : Main articl
Mobilizing records: re-framing archival description to support human rights
This article seeks to raise consciousness within the field of archival studies in order to foster a generative discussion about how descriptive practices might be expanded, approached differently, or completely rethought. It brings together crosscutting theoretical issues and provides practical examples of mediation in order to mobilize these records in support of human rights work. It first problematizes the foundational archival precept of respect des fonds and its sub-principles of original order and provenance. It then analyzes the necessary transformation of institutional policies and standards in order to foster trust and transparency and identifies structural or system wide strategies for ameliorating past abuses