Ian Crawford, the chief information officer at the Imperial War Museum, is already planning for the year 2039, which marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two. With a vast collection of pictures, audio, and film to digitize, Mr. Crawford oversees the archiving project to ensure that historical sources are preserved for future generations.
The museum’s collection includes around 24,000 hours of film and video, and 11 million photographs, making it a massive task to digitize. As the original copies degrade over time, making digital copies of these materials is crucial to prevent their loss forever.
In the run-up to 2039, World War II material will be a priority for the museum. The amount of data needed for long-term storage is constantly growing, with the latest scanners capable of recording documents and films in great detail.
While traditional data centers are designed for frequently accessed and updated data, the most popular way to store data for the long term is on tape, particularly the LTO format. However, a start-up firm in London, HoloMem, is developing a long-term storage system that uses lasers to burn tiny holograms into a light-sensitive polymer, allowing for data storage in multiple layers.
HoloMem’s system offers advantages over traditional magnetic tape storage, including the ability to store data in extreme temperatures without corruption and a longer lifespan. Microsoft is also developing its own long-term data storage system using glass as the storage material, with the potential to preserve data for hundreds or even thousands of years.
As organizations continue to generate vast amounts of data, the importance of preserving and cataloging that data has never been more crucial. The Imperial War Museum is exploring the use of artificial intelligence to help catalog its digital library, recognizing the potential value that could be uncovered in its vast collection of historical sources.
