We all know where I stand on the issue of who should be digitizing what parts of our literary and cultural heritage. The issue is a heated one and remains at the forefront of the open access debate.Here are some fruits of digitization.I hope the beauty of these images and the significance of their historical content will contribute to the debate on why a digital archive of this type of material must be undertaken by the public, not for profit sector.lThe Library of Congress has just posted the complete contents of 6 items from the Jay I. Kislak collection. The...
More on the Digital Battle for Our Literary Heritage
A follow up to my post of a couple of days ago.The San Francisco Chronicle ran this story last Wednesday. Smithsonian and Corbis Enter Media Deal. "Under the licensing agreement, Corbis will provide hundreds of images from the Smithsonian museums, including archival photos and images of cultural objects, paintings, sculptures, aircraft and space vehicles."The images will then be licensed for a fee.In 1846 President James K. Polk established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian The current Board of Regents approved the deal with Corbis last year.Here...
The Digital Battle For Our Literary Heritage: The Internet Archive vs. Google
"Libraries exist to preserve society's cultural artifacts and to provide access to them. If libraries are to continue to foster education and scholarship in this era of digital technology, it's essential for them to extend those functions into the digital world." One of the most important battles in the book world today is the fight for who gets to digitally archive our literary heritage.From the leading university libraries to the great collections housed in our public institutions decisions are being made that could potentially alter access to the treasure trove of material that lies within their walls.It is an idea...