Impacts of the Cloud on Records Management and Archives
A book edited by Salvador P. Barragan (San Jose State University)
Introduction
“The Library of Babel” is a short story conceiving of a universe in
the form of a nearly infinite library containing all possible books. This story
by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) could easily be adapted to
our current point in time. It would seem with the development of Cloud and the
possibility of theoretically storing all information in very view repositories
or just one, that society could conceivably create an “archive of
Babel.” A place that contains all know information created by any person
or device. While some would hail this as a monumental achievement there are
others who could point out its deficiencies. Herbert Simon (1918-2001),
understood the dilemma of too much information long before the development of
Cloud and IoT as he commented “what information consumes is rather obvious: it
consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates
a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among
the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” Therefore, the
capability now exists for data to be gathered that can tell us everything about
everyone and anything at all times. What does this mean for archives and
records management?
Does this future require that we have archivists or records managers when the cloud provider could subsume both roles? Besides the ontological and phenomenological questions there are issues around privacy, memory and history. Will privacy be a thing of the past and will there be a need for memory when everything we do will be documented, hence will there be a need to even write history. The archive for the last several hundred years was the gate keeper and custodian of memory and knowledge, what Jacque Derrida calls ‘archontic’ and ‘anarchic’ power: the power to collect, organize, interpret and destroy held sway across numerous archives regardless of its location or composition. However, the Cloud will possibly alter where this ‘archontic’ and ‘anarchic’ actions will take place.
This compilation will address the ontological nature of the archive and the role of records management as society moves towards the Cloud and the capture of all information from IoT. Within this ontological journey the discussion will also address the question of archival memory and ‘archontic’ and ‘anarchic’ power and how this might change. And if we no longer have to decide what to keep, since the cloud can store everything, what then will an archivist or records manager decide? Will the cloud providers usurp their respective roles? The answer to this final question will address what role the archivist and records manager can still have in this ever changing human landscape.
Objective of the Book
The objective of this publication is to address a question that is upon us as a
profession and society. What will the archivist and records manager become and
do in the age of technology that enables the automatic creation, organization,
classification, disposition and centralization of data and information. This
question opens up many avenues of discussion for the present and future. Two
key areas: ontology and epistemology. What it means for the archive and the
archivist and records manager from an existential point of view and how does
the knowledge required by the archivist and records manager change what the
profession will become. The secondary benefits concern memory and how it will
be changed and its impact on history and society. This volume will influence
the archives and records profession for the next 10 years by addressing the
existential bearing on both areas.
Target Audience
The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals and
researchers working in the field of information and archives, records
management, library studies, information technology, knowledge management,
history, sociology, and philosophy of science. Moreover, the book will provide
insights and support an understanding of how cloud computing and IoT may affect
our decisions for future in different types of work communities and environments.
Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- What is the Cloud
- Cloud, Society and Culture
- Cloud and decision making
- Records Management in the Cloud
- Retention/Disposition in the Cloud
- Legal issues of records in the Cloud
- Cyber risks of the Cloud and what it means for records
- Cloud Service Providers: threat or opportunity
- Archives and Being
- Cloud and the Power of the Archive: ‘archontic’ and ‘anarchic’
- Memory and the Cloud
- Cloud, IoT and the Archivist
- Archiving everything: Jenkinson?
- Information appraisal and the Cloud
- Information Selection
- Archiving the Cloud: the future
Submission Procedure
All interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.
Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Impacts of the Cloud on Records Management and Archives. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process.
All proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery®TM online submission manager.
Important Dates
- Full chapter submission: February 24, 2020
- Review: February 25-March 24, 2020
- Revision: March 25-April 22, 2020
- Final materials due to IGI: May 13, 2020
Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), an international academic publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. IGI Global specializes in publishing reference books, scholarly journals, and electronic databases featuring academic research on a variety of innovative topic areas including, but not limited to, education, social science, medicine and healthcare, business and management, information science and technology, engineering, public administration, library and information science, media and communication studies, and environmental science. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2020.
Editorial Advisory Board Members:
Name, Affiliation, Country
Inquiries can be forwarded to
Salvador P. Barragan
San Jose State University
barragansalvadorp@gmail.com
(include at least your current email address)
