Preservation is Access
Digitization is Access
Therefore...
Now, wait a minute. Digitization is not preservation. It's not clear why many people think this way, but digitization does not save everything.
The National Museum of American History has been closed since 2006 and will not reopen until summer 2008. During this time, The Treasures of American History, which includes Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, as well as Archie Bunker's chair from All in the Family, will be housed at the National Air and Space Museum. This summer, there happened to be an event in that area of the NASM on one particular day and the Treasures of American History exhibit was closed until 2:3o p.m. At 3:00 p.m., the doors finally opened to the public and a burst of people rushed it. There were numerous 8-12 year-olds with cameras who practically ran from exhibit to exhibit taking quick snapshots of each of the items.
As I stood looking at a large table with lots of small squares of colors and read the description, I realized that it was decorated with detailed inlaid wood, not merely painted, as I first thought. A young girl slipped alongside me, snapped a picture and left, not pausing for a second. I'm sure she had less time than originally planned since the exhibit was open for a third of the time on that particular day, but I wonder how much she really got out of the exhibit. When she gets home will she look at the pictures? Will she realize the stories behind them or the detail that went into them? Will she be able to walk around the pieces and realize how they are put together? Finally, why did she come to the museum in the first place? The Ruby Red Slippers are online here.
And here's the table.
Don't you wish you could see it close up?
Showing posts with label Digital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digital. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Monday, November 20, 2006
ALCTS's Digiblog
The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) has created a web log to discuss digital preservation; Digiblog: The ACLTS Blog was created to discuss controversial issues in digital preservation that will be addressed at the ALCTS Midwinter Symposium. The symposium is part of the ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle in January 2007 and is entitled Definitely Digital: An Exploration of the Future of Knowledge on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ALCTS.
As libraries "go digital" ALCTS seeks to examine the changed in services, collections, staffing, scholarship, and communication. The blog purposefully highlights controversial statements to incite discussion and deliberation of topics before the symposium and for the panelists to discuss at the symposium. The first controversial statement mentions preservation specifically, discussing the costs of digitization, and assuming that means digital preservation only an option for large universities.
While the entire blog is not about digital preservation, per se, it is about a change in the landscape which preservationists will have to understand and cope with. As our larger society values digital, or distrusts it as the case may be, preservationists will need to determine how to cope with the idea of "digital preservation" or with items that are born digital. For example, the second controversial statement is about how digital forms are so varied that they will change collection development, acquisition and cataloging patterns beyond recognition. While this may not on the surface seem to relate to preservation, any change in the choices made in the materials brought into the library or how they are accessed will affect preservation decisions as well. The largest consideration perhaps is whether or not the materials are owned by the library can impact whether we have the ability (e.g. copyright, etc.) to preserve them the way we want to. However, other handling can impact preservation, for example, different cataloging for digital can affect access and also the ability to assess preservation needs.
Take a look at the Digiblog.
As libraries "go digital" ALCTS seeks to examine the changed in services, collections, staffing, scholarship, and communication. The blog purposefully highlights controversial statements to incite discussion and deliberation of topics before the symposium and for the panelists to discuss at the symposium. The first controversial statement mentions preservation specifically, discussing the costs of digitization, and assuming that means digital preservation only an option for large universities.
While the entire blog is not about digital preservation, per se, it is about a change in the landscape which preservationists will have to understand and cope with. As our larger society values digital, or distrusts it as the case may be, preservationists will need to determine how to cope with the idea of "digital preservation" or with items that are born digital. For example, the second controversial statement is about how digital forms are so varied that they will change collection development, acquisition and cataloging patterns beyond recognition. While this may not on the surface seem to relate to preservation, any change in the choices made in the materials brought into the library or how they are accessed will affect preservation decisions as well. The largest consideration perhaps is whether or not the materials are owned by the library can impact whether we have the ability (e.g. copyright, etc.) to preserve them the way we want to. However, other handling can impact preservation, for example, different cataloging for digital can affect access and also the ability to assess preservation needs.
Take a look at the Digiblog.