Digital Doomsday
The Shortcomings of Digital Curation
"Digital obsolescence is a situation where a digital resource is no longer readable because the physical media, the reader required to read the media, the hardware, or the software that runs on it, is no longer available."
Digital Obsolescence has been put into three categories:
Digital Obsolescence has been put into three categories:
- Physical media: the physical carrier of the digital file becomes obsolete; e.g. 8 inch floppy disks, which are no longer commercially available.
- Hardware: the hardware needed to access the digital file becomes obsolete; e.g. floppy disk drive, which computers are no longer manufactured with.
- Software: the software needed to access the digital file becomes obsolete
Threats to Digital Continuity
- The carriers used to store digital materials are usually unstable and deteriorate within a few years
- Complex combinations of tools including hardware and software become obsolete within a few years and are replaced with new tools that work differently
- Materials may be list in the event of disasters (virus, fire, flood) that disables stored data and operating systems
- Access barriers such as password protection, encryption, security devices, or hardcoded access paths may prevent ongoing access when operating systems change and expire
- The true value of the material may not be recognized before it is lost or changed
- May be insufficient resources available to sustain preservation action over the required period
- Skills or time may not be available to response quickly to a sudden change in technology
- The digital materials may be well protected but poorly identified that potential users can not find them