E pluribus unum. Digitising the Cultural Heritage

within a federal structure.

Manfred Thaller

University at Cologne

Knowledge by Networking

Berlin, June 21st / 22nd 2007

A fundamental change ...

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Describing something has always been cheaper than reproducing it.

A fundamental change ...

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Today reproducing is much cheaper than describing, however.

... changes fundamental assumptions.

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Digitising in the cultural heritage domain started in the eighties as advanced activity, implemented by specialist centres, dedicated to the digitisation of a few exalted examples.

... changes fundamental assumptions.

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

We are discussing today the systematic conversion of the complete content of Europe’s libraries, archives and museums.

Some constancy?

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

If even the digitisation of exalted examples requires specialist centres, a more global approach requires centres of excellence, national - or maybe continental?

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Probably the largest European Cultural heritage resource.Complete coverage of a region (Scotland).More than 5 million lower upper range manuscript pages.“Self funding”.

http://www.scottishdocuments.com

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Probably the largest European Cultural heritage resource.Complete coverage of a region (Scotland).More than 5 million lower upper range manuscript pages.“Self funding”.And not started by any of the strategic initiatives of JISC.Nor “best practice”.

http://www.scottishdocuments.com

Thesis:

Manfred Thaller * Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Digitisation of the cultural heritage in 2007 is not the exception, but the rule.

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Has projects with extremely high access rates and great international impact.

Germany:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Has projects which systematically provide access to whole classes of resources.

Germany:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Has the first project world wide, which attempts to apply digitization by scanning automats to early modern prints.

(Munich digitisation centre; first speaker after coffee break.)

Germany:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Has since 2001 the project which offers world wide the highest number of high resolution medieval codices without access restrictions, which has been copied as starting platform for a systematic national digitisation effort in Switzerland.

Germany:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Is one of the first countries with a policy by the National Research Council (DFG), which is not only proclaiming the complete digitization of the holdings of her libraries as a strategic goal, but actually intends to pay for a substantial part of it.

(Next speaker.)

Germany:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Is depicted by its national press as having almost no activities in cultural heritage digitization whatsoever ...

... and has politicians which apologize, while opening conferences on digitization, for Germany being a developing country in this area.

Germany:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

1. Due to a lack of a clear national responsibility for a information policy on cultural heritage digitisation, that information policy is implemented by individual libraries, archives and museums.

Why?

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

2. These institutions have an institutional interest in emphasising their profile by claiming to be the only (or almost only) German institution implementing such projects.

Why?

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Make digitisation the exclusive task of one or a very few national centres, charging them with making their resources visible.

Solutions:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

No real discernible differences in the quality of the resources created, or the cost effectiveness achieved, of the ca. top 40 % of Germany’s digitisation projects (by institution), as the basic technologies are in the meantime “trivial” in a computer science meaning and ...

However:

... recapitualed thesis:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Digitisation of the cultural heritage in 2007 is not the exception, but the rule.

Consequence:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

If you declare the digitisation of cultural heritage material to be the domain of a few centres of competence, you are effectively saying, that the majority of the memory institutions shall remain incompetent in one the fundamental information techniques of the time.

Thesis:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

A memory institution which is able to digitize the segment of the cultural heritage it is responsible for, is not especially qualified for the challenges of 2007 ...

Thesis:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

... but a memory institution which is not able to digitize the segment of the cultural heritage it is responsible for, is significantly unqualified for its mission.

Corollary:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

A German national policy for digitisation cannot consist in disqualifying the majority of the memory institutions.

It has instead to encourage them to increase their qualification and provide a strong infrastructure in which their inborn institutional egotism is countered, to promote the sum of the parts together.

Vision:

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

A highly effective national infrastructure, which virtually combines individual offerings.

It makes no rule, which is not absolutely required, but makes following those, which are, self rewarding.

Manfred Thaller Knowledge by Networking, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Thank you for your attention!