:dons librarian hat:
Digital preservation is more expensive than preserving paper; it takes more staff, active attention, and consistent computing resources. Libraries have discussed “digital dark age” since the 1990s.
Corp archives often 1st to go b/c suits haven’t figured out how to profit.
One of the interesting things about the Internet is that we’re actually living through a dark age. Future historians are unlikely to have records of this period.
Paper and ink last. Digital storage, less so.
variety.com/2024/tv/news...
I'm at a tiny place and deal directly with the Board, so every time there is a new member I get to explain why I don't just digitize everything, why the cloud isn't the answer, what it actually costs, why I still print our most vital documents on paper...
We had a local journalist ask when we would have all of our photos digitized and online this week. My assistant told them that we hoped to do it in the future because she didn't want to tell him "never."
This week!! 💀
Folks asked frequently about the document collection when I was at a bigger institution and I calculated it out for fun (assuming a couple FT staff, which they'd never pay for) and started telling people "100 years. At which point we'll have to start all over again."
At this point, I just want to get a full inventory and preserve the magnetic media we've got. The photos and negatives are definitely an "as needed" thing.
