MY OLD LIFE IN JAPAN

Cleo version of my thoughts:

As an amateur historian, I find the shift from physical and microfilm newspaper archives to digital platforms deeply concerning. While the Toronto Public Library (TPL) once maintained complete, permanent records of newspapers in microfiche form, today’s digital archives are often fragmentary and subject to impermanence.

Unlike microfilm, which was a static, tangible record, digital archives are at the mercy of licensing agreements, corporate decisions, and shifting technological standards. Many contemporary platforms, such as PressReader and Canadian Newsstream, provide only text-based versions or limited access to recent issues, omitting critical elements like full-page layouts, advertisements, editorials, and local notices—all of which are invaluable for historical research.

The lack of a universal, publicly accessible digital repository means that future historians may struggle to reconstruct an accurate picture of our era. Digital media can disappear without warning, and what is archived today may be lost tomorrow due to corporate retractions or software obsolescence. The danger is clear: by relying on private agreements instead of a comprehensive, independent archival system, we risk erasing vast portions of our historical record.

Microfilm had its limitations, but at least it existed as a fixed, physical record. With digital media, we are moving toward a system where historical preservation is contingent on profitability, institutional policies, and technological trends, rather than a commitment to long-term accessibility.

If we do not address this issue now, we may wake up in a few decades to find entire chapters of our city’s history missing, altered, or inaccessible—not because they were never recorded, but because they were never properly preserved.