موزه‌ها روی صفحه‌نمایش

AFor a museum, digitising a collection means much more than taking photographs. Each object has to be handled carefully, photographed or scanned under controlled lighting, and linked to a catalogue record describing what it is, where it came from and who made it. Some items are recorded in three dimensions so that users can turn them around on a screen. Because every step requires skilled staff and time, large collections are usually digitised gradually over many years.

BOnce images exist, a museum must decide how people may use them. In February 2020 the Smithsonian Institution in the United States released about 2.8 million two- and three-dimensional images, together with related data, using a Creative Commons tool called CC0. This removed the Smithsonian's copyright restrictions on that material, so anyone may download, change and share it for any purpose without asking the Smithsonian for copyright permission. All nineteen Smithsonian museums, as well as its research centres, libraries, archives and the National Zoo, contributed to the release.

CNot every object can be shared so freely. A work by a living artist, or by one who died recently, may still be protected by copyright that the museum does not own. Other objects raise ethical questions: communities connected to sacred or ceremonial items may not want images of them spread widely, and museums increasingly consult these communities before publishing. As a result, an online collection often shows only part of what a museum holds, and some records appear without images.

DDigital copies also need long-term care. A file is only useful while software can still read it, and file formats change as technology develops. The US Library of Congress runs a website that assesses the sustainability of hundreds of file formats and their variants, helping institutions choose formats that are likely to remain readable. Even a well-chosen file must be checked, copied and moved to new storage from time to time, so digitisation creates a lasting responsibility rather than a finished task.