Emulation encounters: Software preservation in libraries, archives, and museums

Scientifically significant sites are the source of, and long-term repository for, considerable amounts of data-particularly in the natural sciences. However, the unique data practices of the researchers and resource managers at these sites have been relatively understudied. Through case studies of two scientifically significant sites (the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park and the fossil deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits), I developed rich descriptions of sitebased research and data curation, and high-level data models of information classes needed to support integrative data reuse. Each framework treats the geospatial site and its changing natural characteristics as a distinct class of information; more commonly considered information classes such as observational and sampling data, and project metadata, are defined in relation to the site itself. This work contributes (a) case studies of the values and data needs for researchers and resource managers at scientifically significant sites, (b) an information framework to support integrative reuse at these sites, and (c) a discussion of data practices at scientifically significant sites.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrative data reuse at scientifically significant sites: Case studies at Yellowstone National Park and the La Brea Tar Pits

Thomer

2022

“…For the preservationists I interviewed, this frame‐within‐a‐frame‐within‐a‐frame of temporal virtual perspectives (e.g., a contemporary hardware machine running a virtual machine of an historic operating system that is running a software emulator) presents a problem of reconciling layers of time as well as describing possible actions within such a virtualized environment. So, at the heart of emulation‐driven access to software objects is what we might call “the when of emulation” for access experiences (Acker, 2020). Unlike accessing a book or providing access to a unique artifact in a collection, emulating software‐dependent information involves many layers of abstraction, pacing, and moving between different layers of time.…”

Section: Discussion: the When Of Emulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emulation practices for software preservation in libraries, archives, and museums

Acker

2021

Self Cite

Emulation practices are computational, technical processes that allow for one system to reproduce the functions and results of another. This article reports on findings from research following three small teams of information professionals as they implemented emulation practices into their digital preservation programs at a technology museum, a university research library, and a university research archive and technology lab. Results suggest that the distributed teams in this cohort of preservationists have developed different emulation practices for particular kinds of “emulation encounters” in supporting different types of access. I discuss the implications of these findings for digital preservation research and emulation initiatives providing access to software or software‐dependent objects, showing how implications of these findings have significance for those developing software preservation workflows and building emulation capacities. These findings suggest that different emulation practices for preservation, research access, and exhibition undertaken in libraries, archives, and museums result in different forms of access to preserved software—accessing information and experiential access. In examining particular types of access, this research calls into question software emulation as a single, static preservation strategy for information institutions and challenges researchers to examine new forms of access and descriptive representation emerging from these digital preservation strategies.

“…Any social media preservation initiative involves complex technologies, legal, and ethical considerations (Michel et al, 2021). Information science scholars, primarily from the perspective of academic research or personal archiving, explored problems for the collection, organization, preservation, and reuse of social media data (Acker, 2020; Cannelli & Musso, 2022; Dougherty & Meyer, 2014; Hemphill et al, 2021; Kinder‐Kurlanda et al, 2017; Moalla et al, 2017; Weller & Kinder‐Kurlanda, 2015). When discussing social media preservation by memory institutions from the interdisciplinary perspective of collective memory perpetuation, we may encounter unique problems or challenges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

For perpetuating social media collective memory proactively and inclusively: Explore the interests and tensions of stakeholders in preservation actions

Liu,

Zhang,

Zhou

et al. 2024

Going beyond the limitations of technology, time, and platform lifecycles, achieving long‐term preservation of social media collective memory is an important issue. As a social action involving multiple stakeholders, social media preservation faces a complex problem space. Taking China as an example, this study revealed, from the perspective of stakeholders, the underlying logic of cultural, ethical, legal, and other issues that social media preservation encounters, namely, the tension arising from differences in stakeholders' interests and power inequalities. We specifically investigated and analyzed five categories of stakeholders and revealed six tensions among them in the power/interest matrix. In the final discussion, we analyzed what proactive and inclusive preservation actions should be. Our research not only contributes to the development of theories for social media preservation in information science but also provides clues for state regulators and memory institutions to make responsible and inclusive decisions.