Hold That Thought

The more things change..........

Link to September 13 New York Times article, "In Digital Age, Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion".

Excerpt:
Many federal officials admit to a haphazard approach to preserving e-mail and other electronic records of their work. Indeed, many say they are unsure what materials they are supposed to preserve.

This confusion is causing alarm among historians, archivists, librarians, Congressional investigators and watchdog groups that want to trace the decision-making process and hold federal officials accountable. With the imminent change in administrations, the concern about lost records has become more acute.

One example cited: 50 broken links to article on ozone depletion on the Environmental Protection Agency's website.

American Library Association Preservation Policy here.

About the National Archives and Records Administration.

Link to Library of Congress Digital Preservation page.

And it's not as though the topic has suddenly sprung into view. Link to a 1996 report of Task Force on Archiving Digital Information. (pdf file)