Feb 21, 2019

Digital archives in Obama Presidential Center worry historians

In this image, former president Barack Obama sits in front of a light blue background speaking into a microphone.

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Obama Presidential Center, which does not technically fit the precedent for a presidential library as it will hold only digitized records of Obama's presidency, is worrying historians due to its planned lack of specialized archivists and physical historical documents, reports the New York Times.

Details: The privately funded center has described itself as the "first digital archives for the first digital president,” but historians are concerned that the body of digital data could be scattered and hard to navigate, or lack material relevant to Obama's presidency.

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