Preservation and accessibility…these are two topics that have been on my mind a lot lately, especially as I prepare to attend the annual AMIA conference (Association of Moving Image Archivists) in St. Louis this week. They are connected and yet different ends but when in perfect tune can be the drivers of mutual benefit for a media archive.
I believe that preservation and accessibility can be served simultaneously with a well executed digital asset management solution and digital workflow. I'm always excited by the potential for new discoveries that come to light from the digitizing process and the new opportunities that having this otherwise inaccessible content available in an on line environment offers.
Preservation can be served by these efforts by reducing the need for the physical asset to be handled beyond the digitization process. Creating a high quality digitized master of the physical asset, coupled with rich metadata and an robust infrastructure can create the “digital sandbox” for users; be it creative’s, producers, academics, researchers to “touch and play” with the content in new ways that would not be possible with the physical asset alone. Having the high quality digital master removes the need to use it for any needs downstream and further reduces it exposure to handling and harms way. The pipeline of reuse is served by the digital master and the physical master can be moved to be stored in the proper archival (temperature and humidity controlled) environment.
This preservation>accessibility chain can be self propelling and build momentum. In my experience in the commercial archive world it has been clear that good archive practice and good preservation coupled with good technology, business operations and workflows can create a revenue flow that can feed or subsidize itself and build up some steam. At minimum coming at the problem of preservation and accessibility with a business plan will help shape the discussion, define the goals and frame the value equation that the benefits could offer.
So, can preservation be financed through accessibility? Are they connected at the hip? I think so…if you see me at the conference please introduce yourself and let me know what you think. Meet me in
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