To explore the effectiveness of large‐scale consortia for disseminating local heritage via the web. To describe the creation of a large geographically based cultural heritage…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the effectiveness of large‐scale consortia for disseminating local heritage via the web. To describe the creation of a large geographically based cultural heritage consortium in the South East of England and management lessons resulting from a major web site digitisation project. To encourage the improved sharing of experience amongst similar projects in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A selective literature review seeking lessons on sustainable cultural heritage collaboration is presented. The composition of a consortium set‐up with public lottery funding to build a cross‐domain collaborative public web site containing cultural heritage materials from many local authorities and local partners is described. Practical experiences from the first three years of collaboration are presented in a manner loosely based on the European Union Digitisation Policies Benchmarking Model.
Findings
Staff in local government libraries, archives and museums have, until recently, lacked experience in major web site publishing and even in the basic digitisation of locally held heritage materials. Local governments in England have traditionally co‐operated within the library or museum sectors, but not across the whole domain. New communication methods and a formally structured consortium have so far enabled the collaborative publication of a major web site allowing cross‐searching of partner materials as well as access to individual sites. More importantly, staff have begun to understand how to proceed in a sustainable way to support the future development of more sophisticated digital primary and learning resources that are preserved for the future and yet accessible to many more people.
Practical implications
The paper notes the importance of shared values, common objectives and a practical approach to collaborative service delivery. It also highlights the challenges in situations where operational staff have multiple responsibilities and project staff may be available only while external short‐term funding lasts. It is suggested that encouraging the documentation of operational experiences and sharing skills through a large‐scale formal consortium can support sustainable development.
Originality/value
The consortium described hopes to form a major part of the future framework for digital cultural heritage services in the South East of England. This paper offers a rare, reflective contribution from experienced, operational service practitioners who have completed a three‐five year digitisation programme offering free public access to materials that serve to support and disseminate local and regional identity.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
When it comes to choosing names, man is at a loss for words. There are far too many Jones's to “keep up with”. Smith is decidedly the most popular surname in Britain and America…
Abstract
When it comes to choosing names, man is at a loss for words. There are far too many Jones's to “keep up with”. Smith is decidedly the most popular surname in Britain and America, but Johnson, Brown, and Miller are prevalent, too. Since the United States of America is a great melting pot, it enjoys a superabundance of names but does not know how to apportion them. Elsdon C. Smith, author of The Story of Our Names, estimates that there are 350,000 different surnames in the United States, but that fifty popular names suffice for ten per cent of the population. Not even a thousand names are required for fifty per cent of the population. In England, fifty common surnames provide for approximately eighteen per cent of the population. So far as appellations are concerned, however, Scotland is the thrifty nation; one hundred and fifty surnames sufficing for more than fifty per cent of all native Caledonians.
Drawing on Bourdieu's field, habitus, and capital, I show how disparate experiences and “dispositions” shaped several departments’ development in the organization behind the…
Abstract
Drawing on Bourdieu's field, habitus, and capital, I show how disparate experiences and “dispositions” shaped several departments’ development in the organization behind the annual Burning Man event. Observations and interviews with organizers and members indicated that in departments with hierarchical professional norms or total institution-like conditions, members privileged their capital over others’ capital to enhance their authority and departmental solidarity. For another department, the availability of multiple practices in their field fostered disagreement, forcing members to articulate stances. These comparisons uncover conditions that exacerbate conflicts over authority and show how members use different types of capital to augment their authority.