It is often difficult to know where to start a digital preservation project. The variables between different computer-based artworks, especially when compared to traditional media or even single-channel video, can be almost infinite. These variables are a primary challenge faced by preservationists working in the digital realm. The questions below address the basic points that must be considered at the start of any such project.

What are the challenges of preserving interactive media?

For computer-based works, isn't saving the files enough?

Is printing screen shots of a website enough to preserve the work?

What does it mean to migrate or to emulate a work?

Are there other ways to preserve digital works?

What are the challenges of preserving interactive media?

New media is even more dependent on constantly changing technology than single-channel works. Computer hardware, software, operating systems, and storage media all routinely fail or become obsolete. In the 1980s, for example, laserdiscs allowed more variability than videotape, but today, laserdisc players are increasingly hard to find. CD-ROMs from less than ten years ago cannot be played on most current operating systems. Websites can change on a daily basis.

Moreover, the longevity of digital data, or bits, remains unproven. Digital files still require a physical storage medium, which may call for even more diligent management than film reels in a vault. As Bruce Sterling points out, in his article "Digital Decay," "Tape demagnetizes. CDs delaminate. Networks go down. There is a whole chain of additional failure points, inherent in the nature of contemporary computers."

For computer-based works, isn't saving the files enough?

No. Computer software and operating systems are constantly changing, often with multiple versions appearing within one year. These improvements are sometimes made with little consideration about how older media will play on new systems. How data will translate in the future is difficult to anticipate, and the look and feel of a work can vary greatly from system to system. Relevant software and operating systems must be saved along with the media files that use them, and/or the files should be migrated with very strict attention to quality control.

Is printing screen shots of a website enough to preserve the work?

While useful as documentation, screen shots do not retain the functionality or interactive possibilities of a web-based work. In addition to specific file types and media players, specific web browsers greatly affect how a work is experienced. It may be necessary to retain copies of software, operating systems, browsers, and plug-ins if they are integral to the functionality of a work. A web-based work may require migration to, or emulation in, a contemporary platform.

What does it mean to migrate or to emulate a work?

"Migration" is the most basic form of digital preservation. It simply means copying digital files to new storage media, while being careful to preserve all the qualities of the original work.

Emulation is more complex. To use a definition by the conservator Caitlin Jones: "To emulate a work is to devise a way of imitating the original look and feel of the piece through completely different means. The term can be applied generally to any refabrication of an artwork's components, but it also has a specific meaning in the context of digital media, where emulation offers a powerful technique for running a program from an out-of-date computer on a contemporary one."

Are there other ways to preserve digital works?

As Richard Rinehart has written, it might be possible to "[recreate] the work from scratch in contemporary media based on instructions from the artist, documenting the work with more stable media, and migrating the work to a newer standard or platform."

SOURCES

Caitlin Jones, "Seeing Double: Emulation in Theory and Practice" (PDF file)

Richard Rinehart, "Preserving the Rhizome ArtBase" (PDF file)

Bruce Sterling, "Digital Decay" (PDF file)

© 2006-2009 | Independent Media Arts Preservation, Inc.