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DOCUMENT. Recorded information regardless of form or medium with three
basic elements: base, impression, and message.
(From the Glossary; this definition may be found on page 340.)
Although there is currently work going on to update definitions used by
archivists, records managers, manuscript curators and related professionals,
I suspect that this definition is not likely to have changed significantly,
except perhaps for the technological nuance that we are all grappling with
today.
Because archives have been around since before paper, papyrus, vellum and
traditional materials associated with the omnipresence of dust, it's very
easy to forget that at one time they were made of wet dirt that got baked.
And just because we use silicon today does not mean that the information is
any less information.
I trust it would not be sacriligious to borrow an analogy from the world of
special collections. Mediaeval manuscripts were often inscribed on precious
expensive materials. To maintain the budget as economically as possible
(okay, that's just my interpretation...) they recycled. Today we still have
works of Aristotle and other "heretical" hellenic and hellenistic writers
because scribes erased the stuff and inscribed the base material over with
acceptable biblical interpretation.
But no matter how carefully one tries to erase information, traces of the
original are still "shadowed" in the base. Manuscript curators call this a
"palimpsest."
Whether by incomplete erasure, shadows of acid migration, transference of
ink on not-yet-dry letterpress copies, the fact remains that often
information leaves its mark in many un-intended places and bases. Simply
because the information does not reside on the traditional base in the
traditional form does not make this any less information. (Please note that
whether this is information that is permanent or should be permanent is not
an issue I am addressing! I'll save that issue for another day!)
Today's computer forensicists (okay, so it's not in the dictionary; you do
know what I mean, don't you?) are applying the extraction of shadows and
traces of information that have been incompletely removed. This happens all
the time in today's world, and if you don't believe it, check out Peter K's
RAIN postings this past weekend. The legal articles are full of Houstonian
incomplete erasures of hard driving legal magnitude.
Hard drives as documents? Ask Ollie North how many times to press delete
before it's really gone.
Just my .02 worth.
Holly Hodges
IMLS Project Archivist
Lee College
Baytown, Texas
> ----------
> From: Wood, Thomas
> Reply To: Wood, Thomas
> Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 1:25 PM
> To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject: Re: hard disk - short again
>
> Is a record series a document, or a collection of documents? Is a file
> cabinet a document, or a collection of documents? Is a hard drive a
> document, or a collection of documents?
>
> Certainly a hard disk is typically USED as a storage device for documents,
> created at different times (often by different persons) to fulfill
> different
> functions.
>
> Moreover, the term "document" seems so broad and inclusive as to be
> practically useless. As W.S. Gilbert wrote: "If everybody's somebody, then
> no one's anybody." As Daniel said, the crucial question for archivists is
> appraisal: is this permanently useful information or evidence that
> deserves
> to be stored in the archives?
>
> Thomas J. Wood
> Archivist
> Archives/Special Collections LIB 144
> University of Illinois at Springfield
> P.O. Box 19243
> Springfield IL 62794-9243
> 217-206-6520 | wood@uis.edu | http://www.uis.edu/library/lib-arch
> mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
> In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
> *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
> To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
>
> Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
>
> Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>
>
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<TITLE>RE: hard disks, palimpsests, and the dusty archives</TITLE>
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<BODY>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">From _A Modern =
Archives Reader_, edited by Maygene F. Daniels and Timothy Walch =
(Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, U.S. General =
Services Administration), 1984. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">DOCUMENT. =
Recorded information regardless of form or medium with three basic =
elements: base, impression, and message.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">(From the Glossary; =
this definition may be found on page 340.)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Although there is =
currently work going on to update definitions used by archivists, =
records managers, manuscript curators and related professionals, I =
suspect that this definition is not likely to have changed =
significantly, except perhaps for the technological nuance that we are =
all grappling with today.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Because archives =
have been around since before paper, papyrus, vellum and traditional =
materials associated with the omnipresence of dust, it's very easy to =
forget that at one time they were made of wet dirt that got =
baked. And just because we use silicon today does not mean that =
the information is any less information.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">I trust it would not =
be sacriligious to borrow an analogy from the world of special =
collections. Mediaeval manuscripts were often inscribed on =
precious expensive materials. To maintain the budget as economically as =
possible (okay, that's just my interpretation...) they recycled. =
Today we still have works of Aristotle and other "heretical" =
hellenic and hellenistic writers because scribes erased the stuff and =
inscribed the base material over with acceptable biblical =
interpretation. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">But no matter how =
carefully one tries to erase information, traces of the original are =
still "shadowed" in the base. Manuscript curators call =
this a "palimpsest."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Whether by =
incomplete erasure, shadows of acid migration, transference of ink on =
not-yet-dry letterpress copies, the fact remains that often information =
leaves its mark in many un-intended places and bases. Simply =
because the information does not reside on the traditional base in the =
traditional form does not make this any less information. (Please =
note that whether this is information that is permanent or should be =
permanent is not an issue I am addressing! I'll save that issue =
for another day!) </FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Today's computer =
forensicists (okay, so it's not in the dictionary; you do know what I =
mean, don't you?) are applying the extraction of shadows and traces of =
information that have been incompletely removed. This happens all =
the time in today's world, and if you don't believe it, check out Peter =
K's RAIN postings this past weekend. The legal articles are full =
of Houstonian incomplete erasures of hard driving legal =
magnitude.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Hard drives as =
documents? Ask Ollie North how many times to press delete before =
it's really gone. </FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Just my .02 =
worth.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Holly Hodges</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">IMLS Project =
Archivist</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Lee College</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Baytown, =
Texas</FONT>
</P>
<BR>
<UL>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">----------</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">From:</FONT></B> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Wood, Thomas</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Reply To:</FONT></B> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Wood, =
Thomas</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Sent:</FONT></B> <FONT =
SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Tuesday, May 21, 2002 1:25 PM</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">To:</FONT></B> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Subject:</FONT></B> =
<FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Re: =
hard disk - short again</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Is a record series a document, or a =
collection of documents? Is a file</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">cabinet a document, or a collection =
of documents? Is a hard drive a</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">document, or a collection of =
documents?</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Certainly a hard disk is typically =
USED as a storage device for documents,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">created at different times (often by =
different persons) to fulfill different</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">functions.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Moreover, the term =
"document" seems so broad and inclusive as to be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">practically useless. As W.S. Gilbert =
wrote: "If everybody's somebody, then</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">no one's anybody." As Daniel =
said, the crucial question for archivists is</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">appraisal: is this permanently =
useful information or evidence that deserves</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">to be stored in the archives?</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Thomas J. Wood</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Archivist</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Archives/Special Collections LIB =
144</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">University of Illinois at =
Springfield</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">P.O. Box 19243</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Springfield IL 62794-9243</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">217-206-6520 | wood@uis.edu =
|</FONT><U> <FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco"><A =
HREF=3D"http://www.uis.edu/library/lib-arch" =
TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.uis.edu/library/lib-arch</A></FONT></U>
<BR><U><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco"><A =
HREF=3D"mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu">mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu</A></FONT></U=
>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">A posting from the Archives & =
Archivists LISTSERV List!</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">To subscribe or unsubscribe, send =
e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco"> In =
body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 =
FACE=3D"Monaco"> &n=
bsp; *or*: =
UNSUB ARCHIVES</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">To post a message, send e-mail to =
archives@listserv.muohio.edu</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing =
it!), use the web interface at</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco"> </FONT><U> =
<FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco"><A =
HREF=3D"http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html" =
TARGET=3D"_blank">http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html</A><=
/FONT></U>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Monaco">Problems? Send e-mail to Robert =
F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu></FONT>
</P>
<BR>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>