Title

Proposal For A Monument To Lost Data

Abstract

As our society transfers its archives from print to digital media, an unintended consequence results; we lose a great amount of data. The effects of data loss can be profound; without access to vital data, our access to history may be severely diminished. Data loss threaten to undermine individual lives and major institutions. This essay discusses the phenomenon of data loss in the age of digital media. I identify the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, DC as a site of data loss at a national level, and suggest mourning as a means of coping with data loss. To facilitate the mourning of data loss at a national level, I propose a monument to lost data that will be located at the NARA. This monument is to have an on-site component and an online component: a network of memorial entries created by individuals who have suffered data loss.

Publication Date

4-4-2006

Publication Title

Writing and Digital Media

Number of Pages

287-309

Document Type

Article; Book Chapter

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1163/9781849508209_020

Socpus ID

84942889168 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84942889168

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