Slide 4 of 36
Notes:
Transferring information implies three things:
1. That it has been prepared in some useful form, and that it is disseminated to a broad set of potential users.
2. That the relevant information can be located when needed.
3. That the information has been preserved in an accessible form
Each of these items deserves a full talk of its own. But, I see our job as links in the information chain as one of improving the transfer of information using new tools, developing better metadata, and improving search methods. Eventually, we want users to be able to get the information relevant to their needs, when they want it, and stripped of non-relevant material.
The third item, ensuring perpetual access does not receive enough attention these days. It is not that the materials will be destroyed now that almost everything is directly on line stored in redundant arrays of hard drives that aspect of archiving is pretty well taken care of. Rather, the problem is that most storage formats are not archivally robust. The material must be kept technically up to date and accessible by the current browsers. The only rational way to accomplish this is to build such capability into the material from the very beginning. Otherwise it becomes prohibitively expensive.
