Digitalization for the future? 

By Camille Chidsey 

In an era of smartphones and PDA’s, humans document their lives with the press of a button, and often in simple, transitory ways. In recent years, the digitalization of archives has increased on a large scale, the preservation of records of past societies consequently deemed more important. However, with changes in technology and human user interaction, there is an increasing trend for archival records to no longer be reliant on print documentation. Amidst a wave of instant documentation, are cell phone records and instant messaging conversations just as vital to preserve? What exactly are we “saving”? Are archivists digitalizing “too much” and at what cost?” 

In the wake of international and national political and human rights crises, cell phone usage has become a medium for both protection and reassurance. One of the most obvious of these examples is the cell phone calls that generated from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

In Michelle Caswell’s article, “Instant Documentation: Cell Phone Generated Records in the Archives,” she describes various scenarios of people who phoned home alerting loved ones about the planes descent, sending last words of love or hope. While many knew their lives were ending, the real time occurrences of their words conveyed sincere, heartfelt emotions at a critical moment in United States history.

The necessity of protecting audio recordings became a focal point in what once began to assemble part of the 9/11 Digital Archive, a collection of:

            “130,000 written accounts, e-mails, audio recordings, video clips, photographs, Web sites and other materials [that] document the attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and western Pennsylvania and their aftermath. These materials offer a wide spectrum of opinions and perspectives, ranging from recordings of Manhattan residents' voice mails on the morning of September 11 to drawings by children from Los Angeles depicting the attacks. It is the largest digital collection of September 11-related materials in the United States, and it also serves as the Smithsonian Institution's designated repository for digital objects related o the attacks” (Grotke, 2003, p. 251).

While digitalization of the tragedy became critical for all aspects, it was the audios installation recordings that began to garner more attention, and with that the Sonic Memorial Project was born. Backed up by NPR’s program Lost & Found Sound, lost recordings from September 11^th are being recorded into a digital archive retelling the history of the World Trade Center. 

Similar to Presidential speeches that have been recorded, were not these events similar in their tone and influence? While ephemeral in nature, they no less doubt the authenticity of an important historical event. I can no less imagine that while similar circumstances might not have occurred, the value of some of the Smartphone and cellphone conversations that were elicited from Hurricane Katrina and United Airlines Flight 93 victims would no less have prompted similar weight, and an even bigger drive to safeguard the recordings. 

At the same time, while these new media devices are potentially useful sources of information, archivists have to be careful about whom the source is. There is always the question of authenticity and unlike books, newspapers, etc, the person speaking or the video coverage may not be documented or be not adequately described. It is definitely risky to not only preserve and pass on these sources of information but digitize them as well, ensuring that they will be uploaded into a database forever. 

References Cited 

Caswell, Michelle (2009). Instant Documentation: Cell Phone Generated Records in the Archives. The American Archivist, V. 72 (No. 1) p. 133-145. 

Grotke, Abigail (October 2003). September 11 as History: Symposium Marks the Acquisition of 9/11 Archives. Library of Congress Information Bulletin V. 62 (No. 10), p. 250-2.