Technology and the Archives: Viruses, Digitization, GoogleBooks—and the End of Paper?

Eric Wakin, the Robert H. Malott Director of Library & Archives at Hoover, discusses digitization of Hoover’s archival materials. Wakin explains that an archive must both preserve and provide access and that in a digital world both the meaning of preservation and the meaning of access are completely changed.  Preservation can sometimes be a straightforward scan, as with a book or a poster, but other times preservation is more difficult, such as for websites or other ephemeral materials.  Access is an opportunity for an expanded user base as well as a new user experience but also comes with new challenges.  Wakin ends with some thoughts on digital security in the archives.