Early Modern & Book History

2017 May 03

SIZE MATTERS: Knowledge, Storage, and the History of Compression

11:25am

Location: 

Barker Center, Room 133

Does compression have a history?

Alongside a cognitive challenge of “too much to know,” information overload poses a physical challenge of “too much to store.” Indeed, the possibilities of “big data” today are predicated on technologies that compress data into ever “smaller” sizes. On the one hand, major libraries such as the NYPL, coping with spatial shortage, have increasingly emphasized the provision of digital resources – shifting physical collections off site, and in the process sparking heated debates with researchers. On the other hand, the possibilities of digital...

Read more about SIZE MATTERS: Knowledge, Storage, and the History of Compression