Archiving documents

[Woodward Jeannette]

Hi Fellow Netters,

I'm working on an article and need some help.  The article is about 
how Internet sites decide what should be kept permanently and what 
documents can safely bite the dust. 

If you have some responsibility for a site, would you mind 
answering these questions?  Don't feel obligated to answer them all 
and please add any additional information that you think 
would be useful. 

How are decisions made concerning what is loaded and maintained at 
your site?

Who decides when to remove a document?

Why are documents removed?

Is there any provision made for keeping archival copies of documents 
that have been removed?

If you are a university site, what is the role of faculty in deciding 
what stays or goes? 

What is the role of your administration in deciding what stays or 
goes?

If anyone at your site produces a regular publication like an 
electronic journal,  would it be treated differently? How?

Does your library have any specific role in archiving Internet 
documents?

Do you have any formal system for dealing with drafts and final 
versions of documents? 

This may be covered in the questions above but if, let's say, 
Einstein posted his theory of relativity at your site and only at 
your site,  and he's an unknown assistant professor,  would that 
document be around five years from now in some form?  Might it have 
disappeared into the ether? Would any steps have been taken to 
protect it? 


What steps do you think Internet sites should be taking to insure the 
permanence of important documents? 

Thanks so very much for your help.  Please send your responses 
directly to me and if you like, I can send you a summary of the 
responses.

Jeannette Woodward
College of Santa Fe
woodward at fogelson.csf.edu