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Title
Retrocomputing as Preservation
Subtitle (en)
Poster - iPRES 2012 - Digital Curation Institute, iSchool, Toronto
Language
English
Description (en)
This project explores the world of retrocomputing, a constellation of largely—though not exclusively—non-professional practices involving old computing technology. Retrocomputing includes many activities that can be seen as constituting “preservation,” and in particular digital preservation. At the same time, however, it is often transformative, producing assemblages that “remix” fragments from the past with newer elements or joining historic components that were never previously combined. While such “remix” may seem to undermine preservation, it allows for fragments of computing history to be reintegrated into a living, ongoing practice, contributing to preservation in a broader sense. The seemingly unorganized nature of retrocomputing assemblages also provides space for alternative “situated knowledges” and histories of computing, which can be quite sophisticated. Recognizing such alternative epistemologies in turn paves the way for alternative approaches to preservation. The institutional digital preservation community may have a lot to gain from paying closer attention to retrocomputing. This gain, however, should not just involve looking for ways to make use of the knowledge and labor of retrocomputing enthusiasts. Rather, it is important to recognize the value of their projects on their own terms and ask in what ways institutional efforts can support such projects.
Keywords (en)
iPRES, iSchool, Toronto, Canada, retrocomputing, software preservation, remix
Author of the digital object
Yuri  Takhteyev
Quinn  DuPont
Format
application/pdf
Size
559.6 kB
Licence Selected
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 AT
Conferences
Conference 2012
Name of Publication (en)
"iPres 2012 - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects." Editors: Reagan Moore, Kevin Ashley, Seamus Ross
From Page
333
To Page
335
Name of Collection/Monograph (en)
"iPres 2012 - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects." Editors: Reagan Moore, Kevin Ashley, Seamus Ross
Publishing Address
140 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S3G6
Publisher
Digital Curation Institute, iSchool University of Toronto
Publication Date
2012-11-01
Content
Details
Object type
PDFDocument
Format
application/pdf
Created
21.06.2013 12:57:57
Metadata