When Your Floppies Flop, Make Them Digital At DCPL's Memory Lab

When Your Floppies Flop, Make Them Digital At DCPL's Memory Lab. Rachel Kurzius. DCist. Feb 18, 2016.
     A new resource in the Digital Commons at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library gives people the technology and know-how to digitize their personal collections. Changing hardware and software make formats difficult to use, such as floppy disks, audio cassettes, and VHS tapes. The Memory Lab will be developing a curriculum that teaches people how to preserve their digital history. "We want to have some slice of the culture that's happening now for the future. As an archivist, we've been really concerned that people's personal collections are changing and are no longer just physical." They believe it is "the only project of its kind in the country with a specific eye on stewardship and preservation." The preservation actions are "mainly about how to name files, add descriptions, store them in the best possible format and location, and how to be an informed consumer."

Digital Preservation Matters.