Retrocomputing, Archival Research, and Digital Heritage Preservation: A Computer Museum and iSchool Collaboration

Abstract

This article discusses the potential contributions of lay members of the public to the dialogue around the data/information/knowledge life-cycle in a community technology museum, the Goodwill Computer Museum in Austin, Texas. Through an examination of the museum's collaboration with the University of Texas School of Information, the article addresses the situation that arises when a museum is created by non(museum)-professionals who control considerable expertise in the subject field, and explores how the presence and collaboration of volunteers allows the museum to serve as a laboratory setting for the participation of academic researchers in the field of digital heritage preservation.