AROUND FOR DECADES, GONE IN A FLASH: How we dealt with Flash objects at the National Archives of the Netherlands

van Veenendaal, Remco; Wijsman, Lotte; Takema, Jacob; Rappard, Marin

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121095 Copy

Description

Title

AROUND FOR DECADES, GONE IN A FLASH: How we dealt with Flash objects at the National Archives of the Netherlands

Author(s)

• van Veenendaal, Remco
• Wijsman, Lotte
• Takema, Jacob
• Rappard, Marin

Issue Date

2023

Keyword(s)

• Flash
• Emulation
• Migration

Abstract

In 2020, Adobe announced that they would end support for Adobe Flash Player. Initially, we (the preservation team at the National Archives of the Netherlands) assumed we had only a few or no Flash objects in our digital repository, but this assumption turned out to be incorrect. The discovery of Flash objects in our holding led to the start of a research project to answer several questions. Through a series of dedicated meetings, we formulated a strategy focused on preserving ongoing accessibility to our Flash objects through emulation. We were curious to find out if we had Flash objects, where they were located, and which solution would help us render these objects. This was done with the use of the three preservation functions (Watch, Action, and Planning). After locating the Flash objects, we were able to test potential solutions. The results were then applied to our situation at the National Archives. This led to the development of conclusions and several pieces of advice accompanying those.

Series/Report Name or Number

iPRES 2023

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Copyright and License Information

Copyright held by the author(s). The text of this paper is published under a CC BY-SA license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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