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preservation and persistence of the changing book

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Electronic Publication

layers of dependence

Scholarly publishing for screen based presentation is different than preserving a screen based presentation for the same publication. While the paper journal fulfilled both roles seamlessly, the transition for the screen is similar to a process of reformatting. This is because the digital archive for e-journals and the e-journals themselves feature different kinds of access and functionality and formatting and encoding. And this distinction is accentuating as scholars begin to utilize the multiple media and live linkage potential of screen presentation at the same time that publishers and digital preservation managers require a more sequestered text and open source encoding for back-up archives.

Another complication for preservation of screen based publications is the pre-emptive requirement to keep the systems up and buffer them from failure. We are still dealing with spinning discs for both publication and preservation and a dark screen is a show stopper. This circumstance is then complicated further since the preservation presentation is only invoked with the death of the publication presentation. Now we have a reformatting trust.

a thousand and one nights

The term "digital preservation format" was once considered an oxymoron. Now this phantom has revampted itself and is multiplying. There is the Institutional Digital Repository, a digital version of the university archives, and the consortial e-journal trust or not-for-profit electronic archiving service such as Portico. How many other types of digital repositories will emerge? What about digital repositories for non-alphabetic collections or for medical records, or audio or video collections?

There was once a time where an advance such as the use of alkaline paper enabled the persistence of all formats of collections.

(to be continued)