What does the sector mean by digitisation?
The objective of the Taskforce was to take a strategic view of digitisation: to identify challenges and opportunities, and to suggest ways to address both. There is, however, no single definition of what is meant by digitisation in the context of cultural collections. Using facilitated discussion, presentations and workshops, the group surfaced and explored the main issues, creating a wider survey to gather insights from cultural and heritage institutions about how they define and approach digitisation, and their primary challenges.
In January 2019, the taskforce ran a digitisation survey. The results of the survey showed that, at its core, it is clear that digitisation is a combination of releasing digital data about collections, and creating digital representations of analogue or physical objects. Almost all of the survey respondents saw digitisation in terms of digital representations of their collection, for example, scans, photographs, 3D representations and digital film formats. Over 50% also included ‘catalogue’ or inventory data – for instance data fields describing an object, including provenance data such as where and when it was collected. The Taskforce, and this report, focuses on collections that have been or could be digitised, rather than those ‘born digital’, although there is recognised to be a degree of overlap in areas such as digital preservation.
As well as being subject to a wide variety of definitions and nuances for different collection types, digitisation is not a singular process, but a set of stages, for example, pre- or post- digitisation preparation; 2D or 3D image capture and processing; format conversion; data capture and enhancement such as geo-referencing; and data publication, ideally supporting wider aggregation and interoperability. These stages in turn are often part of a wider programme, which may include funding bids and business case development; policy development and standards; infrastructural requirements and technical support; data storage and digital preservation; as well as models for licensing or charging.
Digitisation in the cultural heritage sector
Responses to our survey covered a good regional distribution of cultural institutions across England. Over a quarter of institutions were based in London, but away from the South-East, responses were quite evenly spread out across the country.
Institutions that we surveyed felt that almost three-quarters of their collections could be digitised, although only around 18% are described as digitised at present. The variety of UK collections must also be remembered – from papers, books and diaries, to audio-visual, artworks, objects of all sorts, natural specimens, and derived materials such as analyses. They are also preserved or held in a huge variety of ways, taking into account physical storage such as cabinets; environmental conditions such as temperature; and different media of preservation. And their potential audiences are huge, with great diversity of needs and wants; from local to global; scientists to schools, public citizens and beyond.
Across this complex landscape, taking the survey alongside the workshops and discussions, six key themes emerged and are explored in the next section:
- Taking a strategic view of content
- Discovery and data interoperability
- Standards
- Funding digitisation
- Supporting skills
- Preservation and sustainability
These themes are closely linked, and need to work together for maximum impact.