Archiving in the networked world

Abstract

Purpose - To consider whether PDF formats are appropriate for long term digital archiving. Design/methodology/approach - To examine how well PDF's capabilities fit eReader devices such as future scholars may be use in addition to or instead of paper printouts. Findings - Fixity is the advantage that PDF offers for archiving, while its alternatives generally offer greater flexibility for eReader devices. The question for long term digital archiving is whether fixity or flexibility best suits the interests of future readers? Originality/value - PDF is widely accepted as a digital archiving format and PDF documents are found in virtually every repository. There has, however, been little discussion of whether the fixed format is not in fact a long-term disadvantage.