Archive

One long-term function of universities has been to maintain libraries and archives of old outdated stuff. We never know when someone might reread or reinterpret something and make an important change. This memory function of universities will perhaps become more important in the wired world. When links lead you from one wired content to another, items with many links will get more traffic. The rich get richer and the rarely visited locales will become effectively invisible. Other materials need to be available.

So whatever will be the wired equivalent of basement stacks in a library will be a valuable resource for future rereading. With linking, these memories could become more accessible. But who will provide that access?

Should the archives be kept full?