ETD for Preservation : A case study

ETD for Preservation : A case study

Anilkumar, Nishtha

One of the reasons that we know so little of ancient life is because much of written history of those times has been lost. We can only speculate what really happened. If only we had not lost all the treasures…If only we had preserved that knowledge somewhere else or in some other medium, then probably mankind need not have to start all over again re-discovering knowledge. The loss of knowledge is due to three reasons - Disasters, Media Deterioration, and Alternative Formats & Obsolete Technology A clear idea about what could be lost will only lead us to take precautionary steps or to lessen the damage. Within a library and information service (LIS), the most likely disasters are fire or flood, but those caused by wind, earthquakes and other natural phenomena can also happen. Acts of sabotage or terrorism may occur which can destroy, or seriously disrupt the LIS. And with more and more information being held in electronic format, computer disasters, whether caused by system failure or unauthorized access and hacking into files, are becoming more common. Information is necessarily recorded on some kind of medium. All media deteriorate over time, at different rates and for different reasons. When information is provided in alternative formats – for example microforms or digitized form - equipment for using them must not only be provided, but also kept maintained in good working condition. Preserving long-term access to digital information resources is one of the key challenges facing libraries and information centers today. The paper iterates what steps have been taken by Physical Research Laboratory, Library to overcome this challenge.

2012