[ih] Museum archiving (was: Re: IENs)

[Ole Jacobsen]

Since we are on the topic of archiving, let me put in a plug for the ConneXions archive.

ConneXions – The Interoperability Report was published monthly from
1987 through 1996 and covered emerging technologies -- including those
that never quite emerged. The Charles Babbage Institute at the University
of Minnesota has both one complete set of the paper editions as well as
a scanned (PDF) collection of ConneXions (117 issues) and it is available here:

https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/hosted-publications

Scroll down to “Outside Authors” and select: “ConneXions–The
Interoperability Report (1987-1996) Edited by Ole Jacobsen.”

I'll just note that there used to be a direct URL for ConneXions in the CBI
hosted publications archive, but that has recently changed. Another peril
of online museums. I assume it is possible to examine the paper copies as
well if someone wishes to do that, and I have also recently converted the
original MacWrite source files into something that can be read by modern
computers ;-)

Having published two Internet-related journals since 1987, it is interesting
to see how "current" becomes "historical" in many cases. You'll find more
recent history in The Internet Protocol Journal archive which is available
at https://ipj.dreamhosters.com/ <https://ipj.dreamhosters.com/>

Ole 

> On May 8, 2021, at 07:10, John Day via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> 
> A slight correction, Craig. 
> 
> I am a recognized historian in the History of Science and Cartography, primarily 17thC-18thC China and published widely. I have spent considerable time in archives across Asia and Europe and with private collectors. My experience goes well beyond computer museums, as I told Dave off-list, including junk rooms in the Vatican. (Sometimes one finds things in the oddest places.) ;-)
> 
> You are right about access. Electronic copies can be nice, but there are important things about provenance, etc. that one can only learn by seeing the artifact itself.
> 
> John
> 
> 
> 
>> On May 8, 2021, at 08:50, Craig Partridge <craig at tereschau.net> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Hi Dave:
>> 
>> You asked about museums and their commitment to archiving.  As someone who was trained as a historian and still does occasional archival work for fun, I'll hazard a somewhat structural answer and then John D. can comment on computing museums.
>> 
>> One can assess archives on at least three dimensions:
>> 
>> * Commitment to ensuring their collections are preserved for centuries to come.  This requires money (for fire suppression and temperature monitoring and the like) and also requires careful evaluation and planning (preserving paper for instance, is different from preserving paintings, which is different from preserving fabrics).
>> 
>> * Commitment to creating finding aids (catalogs, indexes, collection descriptions) that enable researchers to find items in the collections.
>> 
>> * Commitment to making their collections available for research (or public display).
>> 
>> The last may surprise folks but there are a number of institutions that have strong views about who should and should not be able to use their collections, usually to the detriment of scholarship and the public interest.
>> 
>> (And, if you want an example of exactly how not to do all three, consider the team of scholars who were originally given control of the Dead Sea Scrolls).
>> 
>> Craig
>> 
>> -- 
>> *****
>> Craig Partridge's email account for professional society activities and mailing lists.
> 
> -- 
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Ole J. Jacobsen
Editor and Publisher
The Internet Protocol Journal
Office: +1 415-550-9433
Cell:   +1 415-370-4628
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