Ways to deal with complexity

Several ways to deal with complexity are discussed. An archive can handle the matter by keeping the number of the single elements in the core areas of digital preservation down. The numbers of action types during the ingest process, of metadata and journals could be reduced. A preservation model for analogue and digital records is outlined. By keeping complexity down, it’s easier to see what digital and analogue archiving have in common. Instead of seeing two totally different worlds (here is the old one, there is the new one), one can shift to a less revolutionary view. This makes it possible to fall back on the considerable implicit knowledge of the existing memory institutions. From the perspective of the whole archive, there are strong arguments for reducing complexity and keeping digital and analogue things together whenever possible. Complexity can also be handled by cooperation. The Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg appreciates the opportunity to use the software tools DROID and JHOVE. The BOA project is a further example for a venture in website archiving that is maintained by libraries and archives collaboratively. Cooperation and the reduction of complexity are the two most promising ways to enable small and medium sized archives to start with digital preservation. Automation seems to be a good thing whenever it can be achieved, but until this stage is reached, the single steps and the standards which must be followed often are extremely complex.