Readers’ Choice: Favorite Archives Blog Posts of 2018

The results are in! Guest blogger Margot Note’s archives blog posts have strong readership, but we noticed enthusiasm for three in particular, demonstrating readers’ interest in digital archives, and what digitization means for preservation and description. They’re worthy of a reprise, and just in case there’s anyone out there who missed them the first time… please read on!

Drum roll please! The favorites, in no particular order, are:

Best Practices for Planning a Digitization Project

“Archivists should evaluate staffing and budgetary resources before a digitization project starts. The aims of the project should be realistic when compared with the resources available. Creating objectives at the conception of a digitization project assures that the initiative is successful and sustainable.”

The Current State of Description for Archives

“Archival collections are among the least accessible resources available because of their size, organization, physical fragility, and basic cataloging.”

Three Fundamental Digital Preservation Strategies

“Digital files exist simply as data until they are rendered by application software, operating systems, and hardware platforms—making them vulnerable to format obsolescence and media decay. Unlike physical materials, digital files cannot survive what we call ‘benign neglect’.”

We’re giving Think Clearly a well-deserved break over the holidays, but we’ll be back with brand new content beginning on January 7, 2019.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season, and a very happy New Year!