What is Digital Archiving?
From booktorrent
Contents |
Archives are generally considered to form the skeleton of the "Memory of the World", by containing not only factual information but also the informational context in which other elements of life, for example paintings and sculptures, wars and discoveries, can be placed and better understood.
Scanning old newspapers, journals, and documents isn’t so much the problem in archiving as is trying to accurately transcribe the text. OCR (Optical Character Reading) software can only do so much.
OCR software has difficulties reading:
• Obscure language
• Proper names
• Decaying paper
Because of these specific computer recognition problems, most materials need to be double checked by human eyes for an accurate digitized version. Accurately digitizing archives is an enormous task.
For starters, it would require:
• Different classification schemes for different types of materials
• Categorization by subject matter
• Indexing every document
• Entering metadata on every file
• Secure storage space with prevention against digital decay
• A user-friendly interface that allows for effective browsing and searching
To read the full article:
http://archivemediapartners.com/AMPed/developing-a-digital-collection-a-series-of-installments/
Developing A Digital Collection: A Series of Installments
March 2nd, 2010
by Rachael Clark
