Tape Story Tapestry: Historical Research with Inaccessible Digital Information Technologies
Abstract
Shane Greenstein's essay describes the author's search for computer tapes inventorying the federal government's computer equipment. The difficulties of the hunt illustrate an ironic consequence of technical change: digital information technologies make it incredibly easy to destroy what could not have been gathered without its invention in the first place. The essay observes that many of the control and access mechanisms taken for granted with well-established storage media do not exist for machine-readable data.
How to Cite:
Greenstein, S., (1990) “Tape Story Tapestry: Historical Research with Inaccessible Digital Information Technologies”, Archival Issues 15(2), 77–85. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/archivalissues.10582
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