Library

A collection of articles related to the File Format problem, this project, or education about the type of endeavor this sort of project entails. For more information, see pages under the Information category.


 * Open letter to Microsoft on specs for obsolete file formats by Chris Rusbridge.
 * Reply from Microsoft
 * 2nd reply from Microsoft
 * The PowerPoint 4.0 adventure: what did I learn? by Chris Rusbridge.
 * Cleaning up the "Formats through Time" mess by David Rosenthal.
 * What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by David Rosenthal
 * Importing data is hard by Skud
 * The Format Registry Problem by Gary McGath
 * Files that Last: Digital Preservation for Everygeek by Gary McGath
 * XFER STN FAQ by New Museum of Contemporary Art (info on their project to preserve artists' multimedia from archaic formats)
 * Solving Problems and Saving Bits: An Interview with Jason Scott by Jefferson Bailey, for the Library of Congress blog
 * The Mother of All Disruptions by Venkat (what he calls "soft technology" corresponds pretty well with what's called "file format" here)
 * Disappearing Digital World by Rebecca E. “Becky” Briggs
 * Process starts to select open standards for government documents (UK)
 * Jason Scott speech at DISH 2013 (video)
 * Genesis of a file format by Ross Spencer
 * Digital failures are inevitable, but we need them to be graceful by Cory Doctorow
 * The minimal principle: because being an open standard is not enough. by Bernhard Reiter
 * What is the difference between text, data and code? by Björn Brembs
 * Philosophy of Data Organization by Famicoman
 * Saving old software from extinction in the age of cloud computing by Ron Amadeo
 * What is a file format? (Discussion)
 * Warning of data ticking time bomb (BBC News, 2007)
 * Dark Archives by Tim Maly
 * Nestor guidelines for preservation planning
 * On File Formats, Very Briefly by Paul Ford
 * Analysing File Formats in Web Archives in UK Web Archive Blog
 * The Trouble With Tech or Why You Should Print Your Photos Else Risk Losing Them Forever
 * Will You Be Able to Read this Article in 1,000 Years?
 * Digital Preservation Handbook
 * A Digital Dark Ages? Challenges in the Preservation of Electronic Information, by Terry Kuny (1997)
 * What is the chemistry of digital preservation?, by Bertram Lyons (2016)
 * National Digital Library of Finland file format guide
 * How Not to Build a Digital Archive: Lessons from the Dark Side of the Force
 * From Tape Drives to Memory Orbs, the Data Formats of Star Wars Suck (Spoilers)
 * Preservation of electronic information: a bibliography (1997)
 * A Brief History of Digital Preservation by Erin Baucom (2019)