Archiving of electronic publications
| Published date | 01 June 1989 |
| Date | 01 June 1989 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb044924 |
| Pages | 376-386 |
| Author | Monica Blake |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Article
Archiving of electronic
publications
Monica Blake
67
Clapton
Common,
London E5
9AA,
England
Abstract:
Using questionnaires and interviews, a survey
was undertaken of publishers/producers of electronic
information with regard
to
retention, storage and
access.
It
was found
that,
although some large publishers were
innovative with their use of electronic material for different
purposes, many commercial publishers are only gradually
getting involved with electronic production methods and
few have policies on electronic
archiving.
Among
publishers, there is a low level of awareness of the
Knowledge Warehouse project and a marked disinclination
to deposit material with a national electronic archive on a
voluntary
basis.
Database producers have more interest in
electronic archiving and take more measures to refresh
their magnetic media. There is some evidence of material
produced
in
electronic form only that is in danger of being
deleted from databases, electronic newsletters and videotex.
CD-ROM
is
the medium of the future for several publishers
and database producers. The archival
life
of various
electronic media is
considered,
and standards relating to
electronic publishing are
discussed.
Some initiatives in
electronic archiving are
described.
1.
Introduction
Research on the archiving of electronic publications began in
the early
1980s.
Hills [1] discussed the main problems associ-
ated with such archiving, and her work was followed up by
Muller and Wilson [2], Blake [3] and Sturges [4]. This re-
search, funded by the British National Bibliography Research
Fund (BNBRF) was followed by Robin Williamson's Knowl-
edge Warehouse project
[5],
which involved
the
creation of an
archive of knowledge in electronic form. Knowledge Ware-
house was funded by Publishers Databases Ltd, the British
Library and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Earlier papers looked at the problems posed by electronic
archiving. Electronic publications must be identified, and
decisions must be made about the kind of data to be kept,
especially where no printed form exists. Appropriate storage
media that will not deteriorate must
be
selected; material must
be translated to such media, and convenient access to par-
ticular items must be possible. Standards are necessary for
equipment and the form of product, and there must be clarifi-
cation regarding copyright and legal deposit. Williamson's
work explored the possibility of a commercially
self-
support-
ing electronic archive.
This report focuses on the current practices and policies of
publishers/producers of electronic information with regard to
retention, storage and
access.
In addition it looks at electronic
media and their archival life, standards relating to electronic
archiving, and some electronic archiving initiatives.
2.
Methodology
Following
a
literature survey of new
media,
preliminary inter-
views were carried out with a number of publishers and data-
base producers. This provided a general idea of the practices
and attitudes prevalent among these groups.
Questionnaires were sent
to 80
academic publishers and 31
database producers asking about their activities regarding re-
tention and storage of electronic material and access to
it.
The
database producers had contributed to earlier work on elec-
tronic archiving [3]. Brief telephone interviews were con-
ducted with fiction publishers.
Several other people were interviewed, such as producers
of electronic newsletters and general workers in the infor-
mation field.
Further work was carried out on the archival life of elec-
tronic media and standards associated with electronic pub-
lishing. Existing electronic archives were also investigated.
3.
Electronic media and archival life
Information published in electronic form is most commonly
encountered
as
online databases, CD-ROMS or
videotex.
The
numbers of online databases and CD-ROM products on the
market are increasing. Electronic newsletters and CD-video
products are also entering the scene. Nowadays, paper publi-
cations have generally been put into an electronic format as
part of
the
normal production process of the work. This elec-
tronic form is of interest as it has inherent added value: it is
machine readable, it has structure, and it is searchable by
computer software.
At present magnetic tape is the most frequently used
archival medium for data storage. It has the advantages of
proven performance, low cost, and availability of recording
equipment. However, its archival life is limited. Magnetic
media should be refreshed at regular intervals (about once a
year).
This process is time-consuming and costly, and intro-
duces the possibility of transcription error. Magnetic discs
may also be used for data storage, but they also need to be
refreshed.
Hopes were initially high for the longevity of optical
media, with predictions of optical discs lasting a hundred
years or
more.
Now doubts are being cast upon
this.
Compact
disc makers are questioning the long-term stability of the
376 The Electronic Library, Vol. 7, No. 6, December 1989
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