IP: ARCHIVAL PRESERVATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Mon, 12 Jan 98 11:33:38 PST
From: "Willis H. Ware" <willis () rand org>


The following was circulated internally by Jeff Rothenberg [of Rand] who
had an
article on the subject in Scientific American some months ago.  Of possible
interest .... check your own PBS skeds tho, I don't know how uniform they
are from city to city.


                      willis


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Subject: REMINDER: Digital Longevity film on PBS 1/13 and/or 1/14


Just a reminder that this film will be shown on PBS in SOME locations at 10
pm tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 13), though it will be shown in some
places--including L.A. (on KCET) and NYC--at 10 pm the FOLLOWING evening
(Wednesday, Jan 14).


                                                                Jeff


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As I mentioned to some of you in a previous message some time ago, a local
documentary filmmaker, Terry Sanders, has produced a 1-hour film about the
digital age called "Into the Future".  Funded by The Commission on
Preservation and Access, this film concentrates on the issue of digital
longevity (or rather, the lack thereof), as discussed in my Scientific
American article and my recent seminars at RAND.  I appear several times in
the film (associated with RAND) as one of a number of "talking heads" in
the archival and computer science communities.


Sanders produced the Academy Award winning PBS documentary "Maya Lin: A
Strong Clear Vision" about the young woman who designed the Vietnam War
Memorial in D.C., as well as a previous PBS documentary entitled "Slow
Fires" about the decay of modern books printed on high-acid-content paper.




In making "Into the Future" Sanders has managed to turn an abstract subject
into something very visual and compelling.  The film has been previewed
around the country at library and archives group meetings and conferences
and was shown at the Monica movie theater for a week last June (to qualify
it for an Academy Award).


It is being given "national feed" by PBS at 10 pm on Tuesday, Jan 13, when
it will presumably be shown by many local PBS stations; however, such
stations may choose to show it then or later: in particular, KCET in L.A.
is showing it the following evening (Wednesday, Jan 14) at 10 pm, to
coincide with its regular science programming.  It is also being shown in
New York City on Wednesday the 14th (at 10 pm), while stations in some
cities are postponing showing it for a month or two, so check your local
listing.


I recommend the film to anyone who is interested in emerging issues of the
digital age.  Please suggest it to anyone you know who might fit that
description, and feel free to forward this message.  Be sure to explain,
however, that viewers should check their local listings to see if and when
their local PBS station will air the film--sometime on or after 1/13/98 at
10pm.


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