Archives in the Digital Age

Preface

Digital archiving is not storing data, but rather keeping it in an intelligent way in order to be able to exploit it over time while maintaining its integrity and authenticity. With the rapid transformations caused by the use of computer tools, several types of documents are nowadays stored with and served by archive services: email, databases, digital photographs, digital audiovisual content, exchanges on social media, etc. We are thus witnessing an evolution of the concepts and practices in the human and social sciences toward what we call “digital humanities”. This has led to the development of new tools and applications that promote access to and use of archives. At the same time, there has been an explosion of documents and information emanating from, inter alia, mobile technologies, social media, online transactions and connected sensors, which must be collected, preserved and disseminated. Commonly known today as Big Data, these megadata use very powerful technologies, which tend to store everything and for a long period of time. However, this concern to preserve everything in the name of the right to remember is confronted with another right, that of being forgotten. This right is often linked to the freedom of individuals who are condemned to living without privacy and freedom by being faced with the mistakes of their past.

This book attempts to provide a general overview of the complexity of the evolution of the concept of digital archives through three dimensions: ...