NM writes “Here is a story that neatly summarizes the challenges archivists face as they grapple with the digital revolution.
In 1986, the British Broadcasting Corporation created the Domesday Book Mark II, an electronic version of the original record of English lands that was written at the instigation of William the Conqueror in 1086. The BBC’s version contained 25,000 maps, 50,000 pictures, 60 minutes of video and millions of words. It cost 2.5 million pounds to create.
Only 17 years after its creation, the Domesday Book Mark II can’t be read. The BBC computers used for the project no longer work and the disks on which it was stored are not readable by other computer systems. But the 917-year-old original is still available to researchers in London’s Public Records Office.
Welcome to the archivist’s digital dilemma. For as much as some local archivists and librarians admit they must embrace the e-revolution, they are not comfortable with it in its present state. “
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