Open Cultural Data Symposium
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck 43 Gordon Square
No booking required
This symposium presents an opportunity to reflect upon several decades of major digitisation initiatives within UK cultural institutions.
Motivated by the desire to improve public access and capitalise on the potential of new technologies, the mass digitisation of collections and archives in the UK has been one of the most significant contemporary changes to our cultural and heritage institutions. These projects have been enthusiastically funded by public organisations, such as the AHRC and the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as private companies, charities and foundations, such as Google and the Wellcome Trust. Given the advances made in public access initiatives in recent years, this appears to be an ideal moment to look back at this developing history of cultural digitisation, reflect upon its underpinning rationales, and discuss the successes and challenges faced by those entrusted with carrying out these projects.