Library Science Talk: «Good Enough» Archives? Rethinking Photographic and Audiovisual Collections in the Digital Age

Podiumsdiskussion über das Audiovisuelle Erbe im Digitalen Zeitalter.

Gäste:

• Moderator: Katherine Rewinkel El-Darwish - European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
• Natālija Lāce – Latvian State Archive
• Stephen J. Fletcher – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Juan Alonso Fernández – Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU)

Mehr Informationen finden Sie unter: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1657140/

Abstract:

Audiovisual archives are facing an unprecedented scale of image production, circulation, and transformation. While many of the associated challenges have precedents in analogue practices, the digital environment intensifies key issues such as selection, provenance, context, and long-term sustainability.

Images are no longer stable objects tied to clearly defined frameworks. They are produced in massive quantities, circulate across platform-driven environments, and are increasingly shaped by algorithmic and AI-assisted processes. This raises fundamental questions about authorship, meaning, and the possibility of maintaining archival context over time.

At the same time, established standards and best practices are often difficult to apply consistently under conditions of limited resources, technological instability, and institutional constraints. Rather than assuming that more technology leads to better outcomes, this session examines the tension between ideal models of archival practice and what is realistically achievable in everyday workflows.

Bringing together three professional perspectives, the discussion explores how institutions make decisions about selection, formats, and processing strategies in contexts of abundance and uncertainty. Attention is given to the idea of “good enough” archival practice - understood not as a compromise in quality, but as a strategic, context-driven approach to managing complexity, scale, and responsibility in the digital age.