Meeting Includes…
“Hands-on Help Time” from 6:30pm til 7pm, BLUG/LFNW & Linux News, Q&A, and a presentation by Richard Pearce-Moses: “Archives and Digital Preservation.”
Richard’s Presentation:
Preserving recorded information is fairly straightforward, given that paper typically lasts decades if stored in a reasonable environment. Even less stable media, like color or nitrate film will last decades if stored at low temperatures.
Digital information, by contrast, may not last much more than decade if no action is taken to protect them from technological obsolescence and unstable media. Archivists still find records on floppy disks or tape, but may not have the drives to read them. Records may be in proprietary formats that require software no longer readily available or which doesn’t run on contemporary operating systems. Data may become corrupt due to failing storage media and signal degradation (bit flip).
The program will describe the kinds of records that archivists want to preserve, some of the risks that may prevent the records from being accessible in the future, and the Open Archival Information Systems reference model. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions and present specific scenarios as discuss approaches to preserve those resources.
About Richard:
Richard Pearce-Moses was a practicing archivist for more than thirty years. As Deputy Director for Digital Government Information at the Arizona State Library and Archives, he led efforts to help the agency understand and address the evolving problems of electronic records. While there, he led a research project to explore how to automate the arrangement, description, preservation, and use of born digital records. In 2010, he was tapped to create a Master of Archival Studies program at Clayton State University, just south of Atlanta, Georgia. He retired in 2015 and moved as far from the heat and humidity as he could. Since arriving in Bellingham, he has taught graduate courses in archives at Western Washington.
Hands-on Help Time
Starting at 6:30pm, 1/2 hour prior to the regular 7pm start time, BLUG offers hands-on help for anyone with a Linux issue. Bring your computer and let the BLUG folks give you a hand.
BTC Room CC201, on the 2nd floor of the Campus Center building. Remember this meeting is open to the public, tell your neighbor and bring a friend!