Trendspotting for Libraries

HOW CAN WE BE SURE WE’LL REMEMBER OUR DIGITAL PAST?
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Chris Gaylord]
Losing personal files can be upsetting. But failing to protect academic, government, or corporate data could erase irreplaceable pieces of history, says Francine Berman. She co-chairs a newly formed panel of experts tasked to ask how the world can protect its digital past, and answer a more nagging question: Who’s going to pay for it? Unfortunately, she says, the same culture that makes creating our digital lives so easy, makes protecting that data very difficult. Consumers expect faster computers, smarter software, and new gadgets every few years.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0214/p13s02-stct.html
(Via Benton’s…2-14-08. Use link to get the full Christian Science Monitor Story–it discusses both machine obsolescence and the cost of maintaining the files.)