Even Digital Memories Can Fade
Digital archiving may seem straightforward, but is confounding even experts as they try to determine how to preserve materials not just for next decade, but for posterity; so dire and complex is challenge that Library of Congress has spent several years forming committees and issuing reports on state of nation's preparedness for digital preservation; Jim Gallagher, director of information technology services at Library, describes project and its goal of creating uniform standards for material so it can be read regardless of hardware or software being used; individual PC owners struggle in private with variety of backup mechanisms, but find that CD's, hard drives and magnegic tape can lose their integrity; some people are keeping old equipment, even as they updgrade, to ensure that material will be readable, printing out vital documents and storing copies; proponents of paper archiving are especially vocal about preserving photographs, noting that formats quickly become obsolete; chart of available storage options; photo (M)
