Introduction to the focussed issue on Semantic Digital Archives
International Journal on Digital Libraries, 15 (2-4):
71-72 (2015)DOI: 10.1007/s00799-015-0148-0
Abstract
Preservation and curation of digital materials is a significant contemporary cultural, economic and social issue, yet it is often neglected. For decades, the amount of content created digitally has grown dramatically and more recently exponentially as digital process have become core aspects of everyday business and life. Indeed, the complete life cycle of most information nowadays tends to remains digital. A selection of this content is expected to be of value for the future and can thus be considered being part of our cultural heritage and essential as evidence for accountability over time. As soon as these digital materials, whether they be publications, data sets, or records of transactions, become obsolete, but are still deemed to be of value in the future, they have to be transferred smoothly into appropriate archival information systems (AIS) where they can be kept accessible against a backdrop of changing technologies, information practices, and documentation standards.