Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
members of the public to correct the machine-generated transcripts. One
might be sceptical of the enthusiasm of 'an ordinary user' for such a task,
but there was an immediate and rapid response from local historians,
keen to study and correct texts relating to their own area of interest, often
based on particular people or places. The website's 'Text Correctors Hall
of Fame' not only provides evidence of the popularity of the task, but
helps to generate a gentle sense of rivalry between transcribers.
35
Conclusion
The dramatic success of these projects should persuade those digitizing
resources of the advantages that can be exploited by such an approach.
It allows for the collation of more material and engages familiar and
new audiences in novel ways. More directly, it should point them to the
fact that there is obviously general enthusiasm to engage with culture
on a digital sphere. This, of course, does not mean that the digital
should replace the physical institution. Neither should such work be
undertaken without due consideration of how it affects the institution's
image as a trusted place of learning, nor exaggerate the extent to which
there is educational demand for information relating to individual
families' histories.
36
But such methods of user engagement indicate the
innovative ways in which digitized content can enhance the cultural and
learning experience that universities, libraries and the like area are
trying to provide.
It is perhaps a little too strong to label these concerns for opening up
data, breaking down boundaries and locating new users as a call for
anarchy. At best, it is a call to dissolve some of the frontiers that digitizing
institutions have inherited whilst thinking about their collections as
physical entities. Rather than keep it locked in a single place to which
users must come and visit, there is need for digitized content to be
dispersed on the internet, passing through as many channels as possible.
And beneath all this, there is still a need for sophisticated forms of
organization to underpin the delivery of digitized material. The lessons
from earlier digitization work still need to be fully digested and, more
importantly, acted upon by all the relevant stakeholders. Creating the
necessary structures, often in partnership, where institutions can build,
deliver and curate their digital content will require a considerable amount
of well organized planning and execution.
