Considerations on Media Options

The physical form and future life of a text consists of a multitude of options including traditional analog mediums as well as novel, digital mediums that spark reconceptualization of the relationship between the content of a text and its preservation form. Analog methods that we have discussed and seen in class include manuscripts and prints. Printing is useful for mass distribution and mass production of a text – once the initial template is made, hundreds of pages can be quickly printed using the template and the printing press. Manuscripts hold greater value when the text involves intricate calligraphic and ornamental elements that can only be curated by hand and through penmanship. General advantages to analog methods are the uniqueness, often rarity, and value of having a physical copy that endures time. With this rarity comes fragility and consequentially transient nature because once the physical copy is lost or destroyed, there is often no way of retrieving that text. Digital methods include digital archive systems like Omeka or the Harvard’s digital archive database, digital books such as google books, and personal digital preservation such as saved PDF files or notes pages. General advantages to digital methods are the longevity of the data (backed up on the Cloud, placed somewhere on the Internet) and the widespread nature of digital mediums. As society is evolving to become more digitally connected, so does the information that is transmitted across these mediums. However, with the ease of access, widespread nature, and sheer volume of digital information, digital forms often correlate with declining appreciation and sentimental value of each text. In addition, the rise of digital forms has shaped and altered the production of certain analog forms – in other words, the two are not mutually exclusive and actually highly interconnected.

For the text I’ve chosen, my grandfather’s acceptance speech for the Order of the Rising Sun, I envision various renditions and forms of text that can all be feasible and compatible. At the end of this semester, I will also have the Omeka site that creates a virtual exhibition of the different components of my text. From previous assignments throughout the semester, I have been able to digitally curate a collection of related material (photos, additional speeches from the award ceremony, a front cover/title page) to be assembled with a scan of the main text (the English manuscript of the speech). This PDF is already a form of personal digital archive because I have it saved on my hard drive and can distribute it to my family members through digital communication platforms such as emailing. A potential (digital to) analog form the text could take is a printed and bound version of the PDF I’ve curated. I would likely need to personally find and subsidize a publisher to publish a relatively small number of copies of this collection of text since the nature of this text holds great familial and sentimental value and will be unlikely mass distributed or sold. I was also interested in creating a manuscript inspired version of this collection by scrapbooking the original handwritten hardcopy of manuscript and documents from the actual event.

After visiting the Harvard archive and physically seeing singular, unique, physical copies of letters, scrapbooks, journals, and code with my naked eyes, I felt very captivated by each text and emotionally invested in the story behind the text – more so than I would from just seeing the same texts scanned and pasted onto a website or digital archive. This allowed me to greater appreciate the value of original texts and physical form. Since my grandfather’s speech manuscript holds great sentimental value, I would definitely opt for an analog copy that contains the original manuscript. Yet, for posterity, I would also like to accompany the analog copy with a digital archive PDF for personal use and distribution within the Cheng family. I believe that the combination of both forms should be utilized to capitalize on the advantages of each form and maximize the preservation of this text.