According to Archival Science
Broadly speaking, digital archival material can come in two forms. Paper or analog documents that have been scanned for preservation purposes through a digitization project would be one example. BAM's Leon Levy Digital Archive features many examples of this, like this photo of our sign, taken circa 1975:
The other type would be what archivists refer to as "born-digital," that is, content existing only in electronic form. Anything created with a computer, including audio and moving image files, is a born-digital object.
The difference between a digital archive and the computer files you access from your home or work desktop has to do with the way we take care of the material. Content moved to the archives is designated as having historical or cultural value and once it is delivered to our hands, we begin to consider methods for keeping the material safe and intact.
For both paper and digital files, monitoring the surrounding environment is crucial. While moisture causes mold on physical material, changes in software and programming systems may lead to something called "bit-rot," or, a loss of data that prevents us from opening digital files in the future.
These definitions and other aspects of archival science have been documented in depth by the Society of American Archivists, a national association founded in 1936 to bring together librarians and archives across universities, museums, and cultural institutions. If you feel like taking a deep dive into archives, this is a good place to start.
What This Means at BAM
Material housed in the BAM Hamm Archives documents the 150+ year history of the institution as much as the changing borough of Brooklyn. In recent years, the archives has begun to actively identify and collect files that were once paper, but now often exist only in digital formats. Some samples to consider:
You might now receive this invitation
as a PDF attachment.
This letter would probably now
be sent via email.
Most photographs like this one
currently exist as a .jpg, .png, or .tiff.
The Archives has been collecting and preserving digital photographs and videos of performances for many years and as many of the institution’s documents became digitally produced, like press releases, programs, and annual reports, those have been collected and preserved, as well.
The Leon Levy Digital Archive is an online searchable catalog of the institution’s records that are of most interest, particularly performance and artist-related materials. This is available to the public.
The Archives is also responsible for collecting and preserving institutional records, many of which are now produced in digital format. These are preserved on an Archives’ server and will be available to staff and researchers interested in understanding BAM’s past. The records collected are outlined in the Records Retention Schedule in the next section.
NEXT STEPS: Records Retention Schedule
Featured Archives Item: Souvenir program featuring a reprint of the 1861 inaugural week at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (1908-1909).View item in BAM Digital Archives.