Occasionally while searching through older digital archives, users will find broken links due to web pages getting taken down or reorganized. 

Reasons for Broken Links

Some files in digital archives may have been created in a program that is no longer available today and cannot be accessed. These files will need to be moved into a current access application. 

Obsolete Access Applications

Some files may be preserved in a large and uncompressed format, making it difficult to send these files to researchers due to their size. 

Considering Large Files

Here are some of the reasons why there may be a lack of accessibility of files:
- Obsolete access applications
- Large files 
- Broken Links

New York University

Collection Managers responsible for general collections will consider many potential issues when it comes to managing their digital collections including: 

- propriety and obsolete formats
- accessibility of files
- using storage and backups effectively
- software, hardware, and operating system changes and obsolescence
- selecting materials for digitization 

Potential Issues in Digital Archives Management 

Paul Halsall. (2021, January 20). Bad Links. Internet Modern History Sourcebook. Fordham University. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/modsbook.asp 

Internet Modern History Sourcebook

Bradyh. (2017, April 26). Digital Preservation Challenges and Solutions. Smithsonian Institution Archives. https://siarchives.si.edu/what-we-do/digital-curation/digital-preservation-challenges-and-solutions. 

Digital Archives Challenges 

Here are some of the reasons why collections managers choose to digitize:

- Ownership and Copyright of the materials
- Broad Research Value of the materials
- Local Research Value of the materials
- High-Demand Collections
- Unique Collections
- Availability of Other Formats of the materials
- Collaborative Collection Building
- Size of User Community for the materials
- Funding and Budgeting 
- Long Term Considerations 

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