Pacific Cultural Heritage Materials: Survey of Documentary Collections Now Online
30-10-2003 ()
The Treaty of Waitangi, National Archives of New Zealand
© National Archives of New Zealand
The needs of libraries and archives to preserve their collections related to the Pacific and to make them accessible through digitisation are discussed in a study entitled "Pacific Cultural Heritage Materials: A Desk Survey of Print & Documentary Collections" by Sin Joan Yee of the Library of the University of the South Pacific in in Suva, Fiji, that is now online available.
The desk study was initiated by UNESCO as a follow-up to the Expert Meeting “Pacific Pathways: Digital Libraries and Archives in the Pacific" that was held at the National Library of New Zealand, 12-15 November 2002.
This desk study/survey aims to identify collections that have been digitised and those that are available online within and outside the Pacific region, and recommend how these could be best made available to educational and cultural institutes in the Pacific and to the public at large. It also intends to identify collections that have not yet been digitised, and provide advice on the viability and cost of digitising these collections
Collections of print and documentary collections of Pacific cultural heritage materials are scattered throughout the world including the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA and within the Pacific Islands themselves. Collections identified include photographs, archival materials such as correspondence, newspapers, out-of-print rare books, postcards, etc.
The study explores the pros and cons of digitisation in the Pacific context. The major arguments against digitisation include: high costs, need for expensive equipment and high level of expertise, other more urgent priorities (e.g. better physical conditions for collections, more trained staff, a better operating budget), copyright issues, and the lack of a reliable ICT infrastructure. The major constraint (i.e. the high costs of digitisation) is examined in detail: capital costs include high equipment costs; recurrent costs include costs for expertise with specialized skills, communications, electricity, space, etc. It is noted that the alternative option of microfilming has been tried and proven over the years, and is very cost-effective.
However, digitisation does present many advantages over microfilming including better access by remote users, searchability of documents, and ease and cost-effectiveness of making higher quality copies. In the Pacific context, where small populations are scattered over huge geographical distances, digitization can be seen as the ideal method for providing better access to Pacific cultural heritage materials if the constraints could be overcome. At the same time, these documents can be preserved as many of them are deteriorating rapidly and in imminent danger of being lost to future generations.
This desk study/survey aims to identify collections that have been digitised and those that are available online within and outside the Pacific region, and recommend how these could be best made available to educational and cultural institutes in the Pacific and to the public at large. It also intends to identify collections that have not yet been digitised, and provide advice on the viability and cost of digitising these collections
Collections of print and documentary collections of Pacific cultural heritage materials are scattered throughout the world including the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA and within the Pacific Islands themselves. Collections identified include photographs, archival materials such as correspondence, newspapers, out-of-print rare books, postcards, etc.
The study explores the pros and cons of digitisation in the Pacific context. The major arguments against digitisation include: high costs, need for expensive equipment and high level of expertise, other more urgent priorities (e.g. better physical conditions for collections, more trained staff, a better operating budget), copyright issues, and the lack of a reliable ICT infrastructure. The major constraint (i.e. the high costs of digitisation) is examined in detail: capital costs include high equipment costs; recurrent costs include costs for expertise with specialized skills, communications, electricity, space, etc. It is noted that the alternative option of microfilming has been tried and proven over the years, and is very cost-effective.
However, digitisation does present many advantages over microfilming including better access by remote users, searchability of documents, and ease and cost-effectiveness of making higher quality copies. In the Pacific context, where small populations are scattered over huge geographical distances, digitization can be seen as the ideal method for providing better access to Pacific cultural heritage materials if the constraints could be overcome. At the same time, these documents can be preserved as many of them are deteriorating rapidly and in imminent danger of being lost to future generations.
Related themes/countries
· Memory of the World: News archives 2003
· 2003
· 2003
Share this story:
Contact information
- UNESCO New Delhi
Source