Digital permanence

Where possible, as well as describing expected lifetimes, factors affecting data retention will be detailed, including potential technology issues.

Since the inception of automatic computers, a key difference between them and other calculating machines has been their ability to store information.

Librarians and archivists responsible for large repositories of information take a deeper view of electronic archives.

Given that individuals' personal data has been growing at a rapid rate in the 21st century,[2] these archiving issues affecting professional repositories will soon be manifest in small organisations and even the home.

The short-comings of some storage media is already well recognised and various attempts have been made to supplement the permanence of an under-lying technology.