UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — World Digital Preservation Day (WDPD), held annually on the first Thursday of November, celebrates best practices in archiving and storing digitized and born-digital content. Penn State University Libraries is hosting two virtual WDPD programs on Thursday, Nov. 6, about preserving video games and other software.
This year’s programs fall into the categories of "Community" and "Industry." The public is encouraged to attend the Community session, which will discuss video-game distribution in libraries and the challenges of digitally preserving video games. The Industry session will focus on a specific software revival and preservation project, which may be of more interest to librarians and archivists who work on digital initiatives at their institutions.
Community Session: "Welcome to the Video Game Dark Ages: Why You Won’t Be Able to Play Your Favorite Game in 2055"
10–11 a.m., Nov. 6, virtual (Zoom); online registration required
Libraries, archives and museums have long collected video games as a vital part of today’s culture. However, significant shifts in how video games are produced and sold are making it increasingly difficult for these institutions to continue preserving today’s games for future generations. This talk will cover some of the major challenges and new strategies that librarians and archivists are developing to address these issues. This presentation will be given by Colin Post, an assistant professor in information, library and research sciences at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Industry Session: "The Medley Interlisp Project: Reviving a Historical Software System"
3–4 p.m., Nov. 6, virtual (Zoom); online registration required
Eleanor Young, a master of library arts student and research associate with the SHFT Lab at the University of Alberta, will introduce and discuss the Medley Interlisp Project, an ongoing software preservation effort that aims to revive Medley Interlisp, a historical software system influential in early computing. Since the beginning of the project’s efforts in 2020, its members have, through preserving Medley Interlisp, aimed to advocate for why preservation efforts of this sort are not only worthwhile, but deeply important and necessary.
More information about Penn State University Libraries’ holistic preservation of library collections, in digital and physical formats, is available online on the Preservation, Conservation and Digitization department page. More information about World Digital Preservation Day is available on the Digital Preservation Coalition website.