SCAN-IT Issue 1 Editorial
Elizabeth Griffin, Chair, IAU PDPP Task Force*
Elizabeth.Griffin@hia.nrc.ca
What was being debated was a simple, earnest proposal that the astronomical
community, aware that its historic archives of stored photographic data were swiftly
becoming an endangered species, should encourage reasonable efforts to preserve the
information in those data by transferring them to modern digital media. How it was that a debate over the proposed
Resolution came about at all has been adequately aired (see IAU
Bulletin 88, pp. 41-42, November 2000) and that is water under the bridge. Resolution B3, "Safeguarding the Information
in Photographic Observations", was democratically voted in by the GA, and its
implications are therefore matters that now concern the whole
astronomical community.
The Resolution (reproduced here on the last page)
calls for energy to bring about the transfer of the information in historic observations
to a format which is readily accessible by everyone (i.e., digitally). It also recognizes the growing risk to the very
existence of some, if not all, of those archives as a result of
changing ideas, trends in modern instrumentation, and biases in education. To provide support for the main thrust of the
Resolution, therefore, we created an international special-interest group to act both as
advisory body and as watchdog. The Task Force
for the Preservation and Digitization of Photographic Plates (PDPP)
which subsequently came into existence under IAU auspices, was formally created
under Commission 5 ("Astronomical Data") where it belongs rather naturally. It will seek Working Group* status in
the future, but that is something that can only be granted at a
General Assembly, if the host Commission so proposes.
Membership of the PDPP is open to everyone involved
in any way with what its title says, though with a heavy bias towards things astronomical. In particular we would
like to represent every project, current or planned, concerning photographic-plate
archives, be it designing their long-term protection, creating on-line catalogues of their
contents, or scanning plates in order to preserve the information digitally, preferably in
physically-meaningful units. Those actively engaged in such projects, whether full-time or casually,
constitute the "core" membership. "Ordinary"
membership includes those who are interested in, and sympathetic to, what the group is
trying to achieve; this would be the appropriate category for corporate members. It is particularly important that the membership represents every astronomical observatory that has a plate store. Please raise this matter with your own observatory. The contact e-mail address is Elizabeth.Griffin@hia.nrc.ca.
We were alerted to the imminent destruction of an
Observatory plate collection where the space was needed for other purposes, and were
instrumental in getting the imperiled plates moved elsewhere, at least temporarily, while
a permanent solution is worked out.
An enquiry about the recommended procedures for cleaning old plates prior to
scanning them led to a discussion involving preservation experts.
Efforts are being made to raise grants for the purpose of cataloguing archive contents.
We hear that
a large collection of solar spectrograms needs a new home because "the Smithsonian
feels it can no longer store them. (That opens up a whole new can of
worms....)
While the responsibility for maintaining and
preserving astronomy's historic records seems to have devolved upon a willing few, many of
whom are -- or, we very much hope, will be -- associated with PDPP, we depend on the
vigilance of the whole community in warning us of impending problems. We also want to share successes, if there be any, to encourage fellow-travellers. It is therefore important that the activities of
PDPP have wide recognition, and to that end we will issue an
occasional Newsletter. This, our first, endeavours to set out information about some of the relevant
activities that have come to our attention. Given
that we certainly have not been able to include a complete list of those activities,
there is a pleasingly large amount to report, and we hope that by sharing the information
we may inspire other observatories or groups to prepare on-line catalogues or set about
digitizing part, if not all, of their photographic collections. The task has only to be done
once!
(* The status of the Task Force was raised to Working Group at
the 2004 GA.)