Searching for everlasting digital archives: Ephemeral data carriers call for lifelong archive management

Increasing amounts of information are being created and stored exclusively in digital form. The problem is that computer hardware and software tend to evolve so rapidly that few of todays computers are capable of reading yesterdays floppy discs. Most of the software that was popular a decade and a half ago has vanished, gone to wherever it is their precursors, punch cards and tapes, have disappeared to. As a result, much of the older information has become inaccessible. This causes problems for libraries, whose primary task is to store information and make it available to their customers.Science also suffers from the speed with which digital information carriers become obsolete. The reproduction of past data and essential long-range studies, e.g. in the fields of medicine, geology, and climatology, is causing problems. The ephemeral nature of todays electronic archiving methods calls for a standardised international approach. The library of TU Delft is leading the way with the e-Archive project, the purpose of which is to create a durable form of electronic records. To begin with, the e-Archive IT staff have produced a demonstration model