A Roundtable on the September 11th Digital Archive

MITH will be hosting this Digital Dialogue in support of The September Project. Initiated by University of Maryland American Studies (and MITH) alum David Silver, "On or around September 11, 2006, people worldwide will attend activities of discussion, dialogue, and reflection in public, academic, and school libraries. Come together and learn from your community and from your world." More information about The September Project is available here. There are over 400 libraries and other institutions participating world-wide. MITH's contribution will take the form of a roundtable Digital Dialogue on the September 11th Digital Archive. According to the site, "The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania and the public responses to them." A few questions to get us started (please do come with questions of your own): What does it mean to “archive” 9/11 on the Web? What are the boundaries of this particular Web site *as* an archive? What new or unique role do born digital materials–email, cell phone text messages, digital photographs and video, blogs, and mainstream media sites–play in the memory and preservation of 9/11? What are the particular issues and challenges involved: ethical, historiographical, and technical? How else has the Web contributed to an archiving or preservation of 9/11, including the widely viewed alternative history (“conspiracy”) documentaries digitally distributed from YouTube and similar sites?