Negative and positive affect: Intentional and unintentional influences on digital preservation practice

Abstract

This poster presents findings from a qualitative research study involving 26 public library users. Study participants' decisions and actions related to the preservation of their digital information were examined. Significant positive and negatives experiences using digital information were found to influence participants' behaviors. Motivated by frustration and anger over digital devices malfunctioning, participants intentionally store personal digital content in multiple locations as a means of digital preservation. Positive experiences with digital information motivated participants to unintentionally store and preserve personal content on the web as a result of social interactions through email and social networking sites. The findings provide support for the study of positive affective issues in information behavior research and in particular its relationship to information valued for the long term and social networks and web-based storage practices.