← Back to Concept Index
long-term-archiving
The practice of preserving information and cultural artifacts in ways that ensure their survival and intelligibility for thousands of years.
1 chapter across 1 book
Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility (1999)Stewart Brand
CHAPTER 15, TEN-THOUSAND-YEAR LIBRARY
Chapter 15 of "Clock of the Long Now" explores the challenges and imperatives of preserving human knowledge and culture over extremely long time spans, such as ten thousand years. It highlights efforts to archive truth and memory against distortion, the fragility of cultural transmission through history, and proposals for creating enduring records or manuals to guide future civilizations. The chapter draws on examples from archival work in conflict zones, DNA evidence overturning historical injustices, and the survival of ancient texts through dark ages.