IFLA Launches Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH) Network

Earlier this year, the Governing Board approved a proposal submitted by the Advisory Committee for Cultural Heritage (CCH) to create a Network focusing on the multiple dimensions of preserving and providing access to digital cultural heritage.

The CCH notes that across IFLA’s activities, cultural heritage in digital form is a growing point of interest, discussion, innovation, and importance. Indeed, this is a growing discussion across the wider cultural policy space, with the rise of artificial intelligence and an ever-growing body of digitised and born-digital material requiring new norms, practices, and policies.

There is a great deal of re-engineering and innovation already taking place to address the challenges and opportunities that digital heritage poses to collecting institutions. However, the scope and range of digital cultural heritage is vast, and this knowledge is fragmented. In order to help IFLA support both professional development and policy and advocacy on this critical issue, there is a need to bring the many perspectives and types of expertise around the world together.

“Within the full scope of IFLA activities, cultural heritage in digital form is a growing point of interest, discussion, innovation, and importance. [This Network] seeks to unite the many separate threads of conversation already taking place, both within and outwith IFLA’s purview, to iarti for those actively working with digital cultural heritage.”

The IFLA DCH Network will therefore facilitate the emergence of sustainable and relevant knowledge transference across the international Library sector, to support the growth of good practice across the digital content lifecycle.

What will the Network do?

The CHN Network will seek to improve information exchange about research and practice for working with digital cultural heritage across the IFLA membership, functioning as a centre of excellence and knowledge hub for digital cultural heritage knowledge, expertise, and good practice.

Alongside this, the network will highlight the importance of digital cultural heritage within IFLA and in relation to IFLA’s values and strategy, and advocate for the timely need to support and capture digital cultural heritage.

The Network will facilitate connections between interested members on specific topics of interest and potential collaboration. This interdisciplinary and global approach will help IFLA provide input to external initiatives as appropriate on good practice for working with digital cultural heritage, acknowledging the prevailing differences in cultural backgrounds, technological capabilities, and economic situations.

Members

The DCH Network was sponsored and will be coordinated by the Advisory Committee on Cultural Heritage with participation of:

• Information Technology Section
• National Libraries Section
• News Media Section
• Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group

What’s next?

Over the coming year, the DCH Network will establish its initial membership, build the core knowledge base, grow an online presence and identify priority themes for the network to address.

Following on this, the Network will build on the priorities it identified in year one, respond to external developments in digital cultural heritage as appropriate, and seek to share knowledge more broadly across the wider IFLA membership for digital cultural heritage acquisition, management, preservation, advocacy, and re-use.

Find out more about Networks in the IFLA Handbook.