[ARSCLIST] NYT: A Cash Infusion for Digital Archives

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A Cash Infusion for Digital Archives
NYT February 13, 2003
By KATIE HAFNER

IN the strongest signal to date of its commitment to
preserving the nation's digital legacy, Congress has set
aside $100 million for the Library of Congress to carry out
a plan for collecting and preserving digital information,
including images, CD's, Web pages and electronic journals.

In December 2000, Congress provided an initial $5 million
for the library to come up with a proposal for digital
preservation. The library submitted the plan to Congress
last September, and lawmakers approved the plan in January.
Another $20 million will now be released for carrying out
the early phases of the plan.

"I don't think we've ever had a single shot of this size in
our entire history," said James H. Billington, the
librarian of Congress.

Congress will allot an additional $75 million on the
condition that this amount is matched by the private
sector. The private contributions could be in the form of
cash, hardware, software or consulting services. Initially,
the matching funds had to be raised by March 31 of this
year. But the library is seeking an extension to March 31,
2005.

The library has digitized some of its physical collection,
including items like Civil War photographs and presidential
papers. But it is lagging in the task of archiving
electronica: scholarly journals, books and magazines that
are "born digital"; CD-ROM's; digital photographs, music
and films; and millions of miscellaneous pieces of
Internet-based material. Digital technology "has spawned a
surfeit of information that is extremely fragile,
inherently impermanent, and difficult to assess for
long-term value," wrote the authors of the plan that was
submitted to Congress.

The problem of preserving digital archives is complex. Not
only do computer hardware and software quickly become
obsolete, but the durability of storage media is also
limited. "We know about paper disintegrating, but the
digital world is so much more evanescent," Dr. Billington
said.

Two years ago, Congress established the National Digital
Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program,
charging the Library of Congress with leading a nationwide
plan for the long-term preservation of digital content. To
help carry out the work, the library has formed
partnerships with companies and with other federal
agencies, including the Commerce Department and the
National Archives.

Archival experts say the Congressional action is coming not
a moment too soon.

"We're talking about losing the potential to be able to
access or reuse all of the information and knowledge that's
being generated in digital form if we don't come up with
effective and economical ways to preserve digital
information," said Margaret Hedstrom, associate professor
at the School of Information at the University of Michigan
and an authority on digital archiving.

"Everything from basic research data to online art and
poetry and performance is digital," Dr. Hedstrom said.
"It's a huge part of our heritage and our intellectual
capital."

Laura Campbell, associate librarian for strategic
initiatives at the Library of Congress, said that carrying
out the plan could take five to seven years, but that the
actual preservation of material "will go on forever."

One example of the infrastructure that is needed could be a
collaborative effort by a group of research libraries to
collect electronic journals and put them on a central
computer.

Whether the library will be able to attract the matching
funds it needs from the private sector, especially given
the state of the economy, remains unclear.

"We can do it, though it's much tougher than it would have
been, say two or three years ago,'' said James Barksdale,
president and chief executive of the Barksdale Management
Corporation, an investment firm in Jackson, Miss. Mr.
Barksdale, the former chief executive of Netscape, is a
member of the library's National Digital Strategy Advisory
Board.

"All the relevant players have had serious downturns in
their stock prices, the value of their companies, and their
own personal worth," he said. "It's going to take some
work."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/13/technology/circuits/13libe.html