Digital Projects Past and Present – Survivors or Fossils?

Abstract

The publication of a new project adds prestige and honor to its author(s), but what happens after the article or notice is filed away? Review and analysis of approximately 50 projects published in Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation, between 1980 and the present, reveals that roughly 75% are still in existence but among that group only 40% have advanced beyond their original goals or promises. Of the total number only a third have advanced significantly while 10% showed some progress and another 30% remain but only as static or frozen projects. This article identifies the survivors and fossils and offers speculation about common causes of success and/or failure.