Sunday, January 27, 2008

Why do you need personal digital archives?: Ubiquitous archiving

Digital information technology does not change merely the form of records; it changes the ways that people communicate and express themselves as well. Individuals have more opportunities to actively speak for themselves through ubiquitous digital information technology. Digital technology also lets them work in a more complex networked environment than ever before, and over time they accumulate a large amount of personal digital material. These personal digital materials comprise the evidence of the active interaction between individuals and society. As fragments of memory documenting the lives of individuals, families and society, these materials have immense historical research value and need to be preserved for future generations.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Defining personal digital archives

While I took the Appraisal and Selection of Records class instructed by Dr. Patricia Galloway I had an opportunity to consider further about how I can define personal digital archives in my research.
Personal digital archives mean private archives of ordinary individuals that:
1. Contain personal digital materials created, collected and accumulated by individuals that carry one’s life experiences and memories;
2. Are originated and developed by individuals in their daily lives;
3. Are more than collections but archives that have a potential for long term existence after the individual dies, preserved not necessarily at the institutional level but at the grass-roots level.