adj. (also analogue)not digitalNelson 1977, 464Since the optical videodisc has a much higher storage density than magnetic discs now used with computers, by melding the analog technology of the videodisc with the digital technology of the computer, the user will have available the best features of both systems.Paton 1998, 205–206At the present time, archivists have two basic forms of recording technology from which to choose: analog and digital. In addition there are several different types of analog and digital recording media from which to choose, including open-reel tape, various types of cassettes, recordable CDs, and computer disk.Paton 1998, 206Analog Technology: Pros and Cons. Analog technology has existed since the beginning of recorded sound. It works by recording a representation (an analog) of the original sound wave onto a storage medium (such as grooves on a phonodisc or magnetic tracks on a tape).ARSC 1999, 67Analog recording ¶ 1) Every sound recording is an analog of its source sound pattern no matter how the recording was made or reproduced. An analog is “a thing or part that is analogous,” i.e. “similar or comparable in certain respects.” Sound is emitted through a pattern of pressure variations which vary in pitch, intensity, and duration. The capture, storage, and reproduction of a source sound pattern involves the physical application of analogy—“an explaining of something by comparing it point by point with something similar” —to the original sound and results in a reproduced sound pattern which is an analog of the original source sound. (Quotations from Webster’s New World Dictionary, 2d College ed. New York: World Publishing Company, 1972). ¶ 2) A recording made by one of various methods of capturing and storing a continuous replica of the source sound pattern by tracing an analogous pattern in another medium. The most commonly used storage methods have been engraved or embossed modulated grooves, magnetic particle patterns, and optical film patterns.Cloonan and Sanett 2002, 74Records created or maintained in electronic form, either analog or digital, are herein referred to as “electronic records.”Besser 2003, 67Analog: Any continually fluctuating or changing process, or any mechanism in which data is represented by continuously variable quantities. Analog images are continuous tone—the range of colors or shades of gray that they can include are virtually unlimited, and therefore their colors graduate smoothly. Because data in analog form can theoretically be represented by an infinite number of values, it may be difficult to differentiate between accurate reproduction and noise; thus, analog technology does not facilitate the accurate creation of copies, and analog reproduction may be of lower quality than digital reproduction.Lee and Tibbo 2011, 127In contrast to caring for analogue materials, digital curation brings a wide array of opportunities and challenges.Xie 2011, 581Therefore, the definitions of the terms in the terminology database attempt to capture only the essence of the concept that can be generalized without considering the types of records (i.e., analog or digital). This makes them less effective for illustrating aspects characteristic only of analog materials.Gracy 2013, 349Only recently, since it has become feasible to store uncompressed digital video formats relatively inexpensively, have archives seriously committed to the use of digital video as a long-term storage medium (primarily for transfer of analog video, but in selected cases for transfer of motion picture film as well).Daniels et al. 2015, 250–251When we do attempt to raise funds, we will need to illustrate clearly the costs involved in maintaining this archives, primarily converting analog media to digital.McCann 2017, 177The cropping and altering of an image, often recognized and reported in the digital era, was also widely practiced using analog methods.
Notes
Examples of analog formats include photographic prints, motion picture film, early audio and video tape, phonograph records, and text on paper.
