by Moritz Schepp and Thorsten Wübbena
The headline “Everything dies, including information”, published 2022 in MIT Technology Review, still resonates today. The article states that almost every project-based third-party funded project must store its data somewhere permanently, “but there are no overarching requirements about who must store the data or how long it must be saved.” While robust solutions exist for static data publications, the challenge of sustainability still applies to living systems, such as databases developed in our DH projects. And as Huculak and Davis (2024) so simply and accurately described: “Databases need periodic upgrading, which can break entire applications.” Consequently, one principle from the “Endings Principles for Digital Longevity” is: “No dependence on server-side software: build a static website with no databases, no PHP, no Python.” Yet, principles often falter when confronted with the realities of project implementation — and justifiably so. DH research often requires active, dynamic databases to function effectively. We feel that projects should have access to the best of both worlds here. In advancing our database system “ConedaKOR”, we reconciled the functions of a living database during the project period with a minimal computing approach and a “static version” for the long-term provision.