Page 33 - ICDL 2019 - Background Paper
P. 33
Museums and cultural institutions have a duty of care to educate people and preserve objects for future generations.
They also need to ensure that all sections of the community are able to explore their rich cultural heritage—virtually
or physically—support literacy and access to knowledge, and help prevent the digital divide.
And with many ‘traditional’ brick-and-mortar venues experiencing a reduction in footfall, their digital presence has
become more and more relevant across India and globally.
Over the last couple of decades, digital technology and platforms have started to merge the physical and virtual
landscapes, as industries and countries across the world move towards digital engagement and capability.
The Government of India’s cultural digital initiative is supporting the sector’s digital ambitions by encouraging
communication and greater collaboration amongst the government, the culture sector, and technology companies.
We need to explore how this can be achieved, and discuss the physical, operational, and digital opportunities that
could help museums and cultural institutions meet society’s changing expectations, while also giving them new ways
to engage with audiences around the world.
Digitization of Indigenous Knowledge toward Sustainability
Digital preservation must not be confused with the concept of digitization for preservation. Digitization for preservation
is the conservation of traditional, analogue materials, such as books, maps, and other paper items, into an electronic,
digital copy. In contrast to this concept, digital preservation is the conservation of all digital items. These digital items
include born-digital material, such as emails and websites, as well as items digitized from analogue materials.
Changing formats Untrained Copyright and
and obsolescence staff and and reliability cost issues Awareness
of technology human error of material
The challenges to Digital Preservation are:
Challenge 1: Changing formats and obsolescence of technology scanned images were saved as backup on CDs and
DVDs. When we tried to access the images, some got corrupted and became inaccessible in less than 10 years of being
transferred to this medium. Changing formats and obsolescence is among the big and ongoing challenges that a
digital archivist has.
Challenge 2: Untrained staff and human error is a reality for those institutions where archivists, librarians, and
museum scientists must take the responsibility for digitization and digital preservation, but have not received any
training. Newly qualified professional staff members usually do receive training, but not all institutions can afford a
qualified professional.
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They also need to ensure that all sections of the community are able to explore their rich cultural heritage—virtually
or physically—support literacy and access to knowledge, and help prevent the digital divide.
And with many ‘traditional’ brick-and-mortar venues experiencing a reduction in footfall, their digital presence has
become more and more relevant across India and globally.
Over the last couple of decades, digital technology and platforms have started to merge the physical and virtual
landscapes, as industries and countries across the world move towards digital engagement and capability.
The Government of India’s cultural digital initiative is supporting the sector’s digital ambitions by encouraging
communication and greater collaboration amongst the government, the culture sector, and technology companies.
We need to explore how this can be achieved, and discuss the physical, operational, and digital opportunities that
could help museums and cultural institutions meet society’s changing expectations, while also giving them new ways
to engage with audiences around the world.
Digitization of Indigenous Knowledge toward Sustainability
Digital preservation must not be confused with the concept of digitization for preservation. Digitization for preservation
is the conservation of traditional, analogue materials, such as books, maps, and other paper items, into an electronic,
digital copy. In contrast to this concept, digital preservation is the conservation of all digital items. These digital items
include born-digital material, such as emails and websites, as well as items digitized from analogue materials.
Changing formats Untrained Copyright and
and obsolescence staff and and reliability cost issues Awareness
of technology human error of material
The challenges to Digital Preservation are:
Challenge 1: Changing formats and obsolescence of technology scanned images were saved as backup on CDs and
DVDs. When we tried to access the images, some got corrupted and became inaccessible in less than 10 years of being
transferred to this medium. Changing formats and obsolescence is among the big and ongoing challenges that a
digital archivist has.
Challenge 2: Untrained staff and human error is a reality for those institutions where archivists, librarians, and
museum scientists must take the responsibility for digitization and digital preservation, but have not received any
training. Newly qualified professional staff members usually do receive training, but not all institutions can afford a
qualified professional.
27
