Advantages and Disadvantages of Digitalization of Cultural Heritage

Pros and cons of digitalization (essay)

In the 21st century, everyone addresses digitalization. According to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization defined that digitization is changing the cultural experience all around the world, not only in terms of new technology-based access, production and propagation, however also in terms of participation and creation, and learning and partaking in a knowledge society especially in the cultural aspect. Thence, digitalizing cultural heritage emerge which is made up of computer-based materials that should be kept for future generations. They originate from different communities, industries, sectors and countries. However, Puglia, Reed and Rhodes (2005) mentioned that the recognition of digitization as a preservation strategy is a relatively new and still-controversial concept within the cultural heritage community, this argument for digitizing the literary heritage leads to a discussion about why we have to preserve them in the way of digital format. This essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages of digitalization in preserving cultural heritage, and how it could offer a viable solution to balance the needs of different stakeholders in the face of challenges posed by prioritization of economic development over conservation.

In the past decade, the cultural awareness of conservation has been ameliorated but when it comes to the key point about conservation against development, it is still the "development first" economic thinking and conservation thinking is still frail. And Demolition of Hong Kong's Tung Tak Pawn Shop is one of the examples. In light of that, digitalization of cultural heritage would be a workable solution to balance the needs of different stakeholders.

There are several advantages of digitalization of cultural heritage. Initially, digital collections offer flexible and interactive access to the materials. Base on Hughes (2003) stated that the collections can be assessed by audiences or any other potential users. For example, as stated by City University of Hong Kong (2016), a civil society organization, international Guoshu Association hold an exhibition called 300 Years of Hakka Kung Fu: Digital Vision of its Legacy and Future. The exhibition allowed the public to learn more about traditional Hakka martial arts and culture using creative media and art as Hakka kung fu has been captured using unique 360-degree 3D motion capture technology in the project. So, the origin, development and future of Hakka kung fu could be explored by the general public at the exhibition. Therefore, the audience would be fascinated by this interactive exhibition in order to promote their cognition in cultural of Hakka kung fu.

Then, European Commission (2018) stated that digitalization of cultural heritage had brought unprecedented opportunities to access cultural material, while the institutions can reach out to spacious audiences, engage new users so as to develop creative and accessible content for leisure and education. For example, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (2007) stated that a joint project of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department the "Hong Kong Memory" project would provide free and open access, through the multimedia website that digitalized the collections of stories, items, heritages and materials that reflected the collective memory of Hong Kong people. The active participation of the community including general public and the professionals in collaborative symbiosis, technology and information sharing so as to abound the "Hong Kong Memory" collection for the purpose of intensify the sense of belonging and cohesiveness of Hong Kong people, and enhance cultural civilization and a treasuring of Hong Kong's historical and cultural heritage.

Next, Hughes (2003) stated that creating a digital substitute of a rare or frail original object can provide access to users while preventing the original from damage by handling or exhibit. Dietrich and Pekel, indicated that old film rolls disintegrate after a particular period of time that affecting the quality of films and then the film rolls become futile. Thus, digitalizing these kinds of fragile objects and preserves them for permanently and exert their own functions. In addition, according to Hughes (2003) digitalization of cultural heritage would be the first step in conducting advanced research on historical materials. It is because most of the ancient documents would be the first priority for digitalization in nowadays the situation since they were exposed for certain centuries and some of the heritage is degrading. And this became the motivation behind the digitization of many invaluable artefacts. For the most famous article is the Beowulf Manuscript at the British Library. As stated in the British Library (n. d. ) the electronic Beowulf carried out high-resolution imaging of the original. This balances the needs of scholarly understanding of the original and protecting the original at the same time.

Another example is the Digital Dunhuang project. Refer to Denbo (2016), the Digital Dunhuang project which has created nearly 1 million images of over a hundred caves, murals, and sculptures. This is a huge challenge for those scholars wanting to inspect the caves and the artwork inside the caves. Therefore, the metadata is required for the scholarly to manage the metadata. This challenge provides an opportunity for scholarly exploring and studying the artefacts which are valuable with research value and to advance the scholarly conversation and discussion about the caves and their artefacts. According to Zhou, Berkeley, Wang, and Downie, one of the user (scholar) Eugene Wang, Harvard University indicated that there is an important contribution throughout the whole project which makes education by making the caves available in a time-independent manner both for current and future scholars and students. Consequently, cultural heritage is able to use for history or genealogical research. After that, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (2007) indicated that enhancing cultural communication and transmission, thereby carrying forward and developing national culture through the "Hong Kong Memory" project that mentioned above. There is a team of scholars and consultants who are responsible for studying the local history for the content development of the project. They also acquire priceless artefacts from a different area like private and public organizations, universities and archival institutions for digitalizing the cultural heritage, which will then be methodically arranged to facilitate efficient search in Hong Kong's historical and cultural heritage.

Above all, digitalization of cultural heritage consequences a lot in advantages. For instance, offering flexible and interactive access to the materials, developing creative and accessible content for leisure and education, preventing the original from damage by handling or exhibit and conducting advanced research on historical materials. However, some of the disadvantages are brought together while people addressing in digitalization in cultural heritage. Firstly, with Baker (2017) narrated that reducing the engagement with an object which means a limited offering of experience of the “real thing”. There is an example, when a person sees Attlee’s notations, on cabinet papers at the National Archives, it may be made appreciate to the historic significance of the paperwork in front of the person. In contrast, if the person is looking at a digital image which may be diminished the historic significance. And this may low the passion of the person who is studying it. Additionally, some of the cultural heritage would be recorded by video, audio format, but they cannot reflect the olfactory, taste, touch and emotional experience fields beyond visual and audio. For instance, herbal tea and some intangible cultural heritage like folk song etc.

Afterwards, a National Archives, 2014 reported that there is reducing footfall and revenue. In their survey in 2014, there is some contrary correlation between internet access and visitor numbers. That the archive audience for online services is increasing while fewer people are visiting archives in person. However, White (2014) argued that the loss of revenue might be related to the value-added services, for example, gift shop sales at the physical location, is countered by access to an online catalogue.

Furthermore, National Archives, 2014 stated that digitalization of cultural heritage would increase the costs. As the need for maintaining and caring most of the original collection. At the same time, digitized collection requires specialist technical skills, as well as additional equipment costs such as Paul (2010), mentioned that one of the larger implication of the nonbook dilemma for the cultural heritage. It is because the preservation required profession techniques to raise and nurture on the care of books and paper. Nevertheless, they cannot reorient the same techniques to give equal attention or quality of care to film and magnetic media. This comes the need to recruit and retain a new generation of preservation specialists. This is a significant challenge of change is one not only of tradition and worldview but also of expertise. Another example, Dietrich and Pekel, (2012) reported that Max Kaiser published the report “Putting 600, 000 Books Online: The Large-Scale Digitization in 2010, The report showed that the total cost of digitizing Europe’s entire cultural heritage, would cost a total of 100 billion US. However, Dietrich and Pekel, (2012) argued that collaboration with large companies such as Google and Microsoft is a solution or way to lower the costs in digitalization in cultural heritage. It is because those large company will play a major role in digitalization of cultural heritage. An example is a public-private partnership between Google and the Austrian National Library. The partnership with Google called “Austrian Books Online” aims to digitize approximately 600, 000 volumes from the beginning of the sixteenth to the second half of the nineteenth century. These digital copies will be made available free of charge via Google Books and the Digital Library of the Austrian National Library. Once the government able to partner with a large company, it would be able to accomplish the big project. Since digitalization of cultural heritage would be the global trend in the coming decade or century.

However, the disadvantages that bring from the digitalization should be aware and fix it. A recommendation is provided, creating a permanent collaborative platform for the professionals is necessary. Because either preservation or digitalization is high demand in the requirement of professional specialists including architects, surveyors, actuaries, designers, scholars, etc. This platform allows absorbing and integrate with different expertise in order to match with different preservation or digitalization of cultural heritage. Amartya Sen was the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics said that development as freedom. Preservation and digitalization against the development, this old though should be flowed away and people should have to turn a new thinking pattern in preservation and digitalization equal to development.