Preservation, Conservation and Information Technology Preservation, Conservation and Information Technology Digital Conservation Treatment Documentation Metdata as a Preservation Tool Information Technology and Conservation Education Use Patterns of Digitized ARtifacts Resources and Further Informaiton Site Map Preservation, Conservation and Information Technology
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The preservation and conservation profession faces two primary issues: the application of information technology within the profession and the preservation of digital information. The interdependence of these two concerns requires that they be addressed together. Rooted in hand-skill oriented craft, the field of preservation and conservation has traditionally been concerned with the physicality of information most frequently defined as books and paper. Digital information can exist independent of a physical medium and thus presents a perplexing subject for the field. The absence of a physical medium should not hinder the application of this new technology nor diminish its importance as a preservation concern. Historically, the field has demonstrated a willingness to incorporate new technologies, such as materials science, in an effort to enhance the execution of their mission. The transition from restoration, emphasizing hand skills and aesthetic values, to conservation, emphasizing chemical and structural stability, required the concerted effort of many individual and much research. The application of digital information technology and the preservation of the resulting digital information objects is entirely possible and very likely essential to the field's continuing development.