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ECM: The Lost Legacy of the Information Age
At no time in human history have humans created and have had access to so much information and data. But given that, it may seem a bit odd that scientists are worried that much of the information in this current age of information will be lost to future generations. Computers worldwide are generating enough data to fill the Library of Congress every 15 minutes.
Remember that information is just as easy to lose as it is to create. Keeping today’s information for tomorrow is a hard problem. Much of the problem is rapid obsolescence — the incredible speed with which technology is changing. Data recording devices become rapidly out of date. File formats and software digital authoring tools are rapidly replaced with newer and more innovative software, often leaving behind data that is no longer readable. Data is not being properly archived and maintained on storage media that will last for long periods of time.
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted some of the difficulties encountered by data archivists who try to reconstruct data that is only a few decades old. For example, in 2000 William Hamilton, a leading evolutionary biologist, died and archivists trying to piece together the history of his life ran into a number of roadblocks when attempting to recover his data and transcripts that were recorded in the 1960’s. Some of the data was eventually readable only after piecing together a system build from vintage computers and tape drives.
Scientists and archivists recognize that there is a problem, but it isn’t clear yet what to do about it. The British library has set up a special eManuscript group chartered with the goal of decoding and archiving digital data. In the US, groups like the Library of Congress’ National Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program and the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access are studying how to remedy the problem.
Those groups cite problems in getting access to newer collaborative technologies like email, Google, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. The trail of technology is hard to track — paper was considerably easier. Will today’s tweets still exist twenty years from now?
Validity and authenticity also become interesting questions. Digital data is extremely easy to modify. Electronic data forensics will become an increasingly important topic for scientists and archivists.
“Digital information lasts forever — or five years,” says RAND Corp. computer analyst Jeff Rothenberg, “whichever comes first.”
