presentations Archives - ross spencer :: exponentialdecay.digipres

Image provides a simple illustration that the goal of a flux device and a USB disk drive is to generate a functional disk image

Just one more thing: Myths, Risks and Realities of Floppy Disk Preservation

A few weeks back, along with colleagues, Leontien, Tyler, and Julianna, we presented a paper at iPRES 2026 titled: Myths, Risks and Realities of Floppy Disk Preservation

The abstract read as follows:

Thorsted, Tyler; Talboom, Leontien; Spencer, Ross; Barrera-Gomez, Julianna

Brigham Young University, United States of America; University of Cambridge Libraries & Archives; Independent Researcher; Harvard University Library

Floppy disks remain vital for accessing early digital collections, yet online forums and blogs circulate many untested myths around these carriers. This paper examines common claims about reading disks; handling, cleaning, storage and media fragility; evaluating them in the context of contemporary workflows. Drawing on practical experience, targeted testing, and collaboration with conservation experts, we distinguish between theoretical risks and real-world workflows. By situating online advice within our own preservation practice, we provided a grounded perspective that helps preservation practitioners navigate legacy media.

We were taken aback to learn that the contribution had been shortlisted, and indeed, won the Angela Dappert Memorial Award for Digital Preservation, selected by Angela’s partner, Adam Farquhar of Digital Lifecycle Management,

I am still speechless, as I am sure the rest of the team is as well. It is such a privilege to receive this award, and I am incredibly grateful to Adam for selecting us alongside previous recipients.

2021 – Micky Lindlar, Merle Friedrich, & Miriam Reiche, (TIB (Technische Informationsbibliothek))
2022 – Andrew Jackson (The British Library)
2023 – Meghan Lyon, Grace Bicho (The Library of Congress)
2024 – Klaus Rechert (University of Applied Sciences Kehl); Dragan Espenschied (Rhizome); Rafael Gieschke (University of Freiburg) & Wendy Hagenmaier (Yale University Library)
2025 – Matthew P. Burgess, Peter Brotherton (State Library New South Wales)

In hindsight, having the very last presentation on stage before the final keynote might have been a clue about a potential award? Even if it wasn’t a clue, following in the footsteps of many great presentations at an exceptionally deep, and diverse, conference was quite a bit of pressure.

I suspect we were all a little nervous, I definitely was, and as a result I lost my way in the slides a bit, and there were a few points I really wanted to labor on.

The slides for the presentation are available on Google Drive.

As for those few points I really wanted to emphasize, at least I have a chance to write about them below.

Information Maintainers talk: Something something twenty years open source…

It was back in May, yes, way back when, that Jordan Hale of the Information Maintainers group put the following to me:

I write today to ask if you’d be interested in being our special guest on the next Information Maintainers call … we thought your perspective on working within and maintaining decentralized, small-group systems and development infrastructures would be really rad to hear about. What do you think?

I am a big fan of the Information Maintainers and so I was pretty stoked to be asked. Of course, I jumped at the chance and wrote about “Something something twenty years open source…”

OPFCON: How has OPF contributed to the international digital preservation community? Where would this community be without OPF?

Last Wednesday and in another life, pre-COVID pandemic, I would have been visiting Vienna again. I visited for the digital preservation conference iPRES for the first time in 2010, and lived there for a short period of time last year.

Now, we’re in the midst of a pandemic and the Open Preservation Foundation (OPF) 10th Anniversary Event could not happen in person but the OPF found a way anyway, and so 9-10 June 2020 became the online event OPFCON.

Fortunate enough have an abstract of mine be considered worthy of a panel towards the end of the event I was able to reflect on the last 10 years. My notes on those and the panel can be found below.

Header for my talk at the Vienna Institute for Historical Research, reflecting on community and self-development in digital preservation. I touch upon, among other things, community, recognizing privilege, and finding value and meaning in digital records.

Digital preservation at the coalface: or how I learned that glamping doesn’t always involve the vast wilderness

The last Friday of March this year, I was invited by Elizabeth Kata at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to give a presentation at the Vienna Institute for Historical Research (Institut für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung). I don’t have a transcript for that day or a complete set of notes that I followed, but here is the essence of the talk. In it, Reflecting on community and self-development in digital preservation; I touch upon, among other things, community, recognizing privilege, and finding value and meaning in digital records.

I began and ended the talk by singing two Waiata, an important part of my previous role at Archives New Zealand.

Te Manaaki taonga

Te Manaaki taonga
E whakarauika ana I te tini e
E ranga ana I te tira
Hei huruhuru moo te manu ka rere
Hei Poutuumaaro mo te kainga
Tuituinga koorero tuituinga tangata
Manaaki taaonga manaaki tangata
(Tane chant: Tuituinga koorero tuituinga tangata.
Manaaki taaonga manaki tangata – Hi!)
(Last time Wahine join chant: manaaki tangata – Hi!)

The value/prestige in protecting treasures
They gather/connect the people like the gathering of fish
They weave the party/masses
To be like feathers of a bird that takes flight
To be a strong pillar for our home
The sewing of stories, the sewing of people
The protection of treasures the protection of people

Tag: presentations

Just one more thing: Myths, Risks and Realities of Floppy Disk Preservation

Information Maintainers talk: Something something twenty years open source…

OPFCON: How has OPF contributed to the international digital preservation community? Where would this community be without OPF?

Digital preservation at the coalface: or how I learned that glamping doesn’t always involve the vast wilderness

Te Manaaki taonga

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