Vocab Term: Database/Digital Database

Definition: There are slight differences between a database and an archive. If archives involve some editorial or taxonomical organization of artifacts, information, or content, then a database is simply a repository where everything is stored. In other words, the relationship between a database and an archive is hierarchical. Many practitioners in Digital Humanities maintain that digital archives stem from an academic desire to “…control, or editorialize, cultural records of knowledge” (Harris 17).

DH Source: It can also be considered that a database is housed in an “archive.” “By revising the definition of “archive” to include the original material, its digital surrogates, its database, and its tools, even its visual representation also becomes part of the archive…” (Harris 17). The database then, while its the originating reason for why an archive exists, it is also just one component of a digital archive. The database is simply the repository and the archive is used to create meaning about the repository of information.

Commentary: When it comes to constructing an archive, it’s perhaps helpful to relate it to mountain climbing. The database is at the bottom. It’s the maps, routes, and understanding about the mountain which is similar to the artifacts that would be contained in a database. Everything else involves expertise. Expertise on how to climb, what gear to bring, what season makes said mountain difficult or easier to climb is like the expertise that certain scholars bring to a certain database. It’s difficult to separate the scholarly knowledge that certain experts have about an artifact from the artifact itself. This is interesting to me because I can understand why archives are necessary when it comes to passing along accurate information.

Katharine Harris. “Archive” The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.