Adapting Existing Technologies for Digitally Archiving Personal Lives. Digital Forensics, Ancestral Computing, and Evolutionary Perspectives and Tools

Abstract

• The adoption of existing technologies for digital curation, most especially digital capture, is outlined in the context of personal digital archives and the Digital Manuscripts Project at the British Library. Technologies derived from computer forensics, data conversion and classic computing, and evolutionary computing are considered. The practical imperative of moving information to modern and fresh media as soon as possible is highlighted, as is the need to retain the potential for researchers of the future to experience the original look and feel of personal digital objects. The importance of not relying on any single technology is also emphasised.