Access and Preservation: Addressing Challenges of Linking Cultural Heritage Datasets

摘要

Development of a spectral reference database of scientific samples with data from advanced imaging techniques in the Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD) at the Library of Congress expands the utility of non-destructive scientific analyses for cultural heritage research. This yields enhanced preservation data and provides greater access to lost information hidden in the non-visible and obscured in the visible regions. It includes data from collection objects such as drafts of the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address, maps, drawings and prints. To ensure access and usability of this data, a "scriptospatial" system for representing data from the original document supports effective integration of diverse scientific and scholarly data, layered with spatial, temporal, cultural and historical data. To support archiving of digital products with consistent quality, PRTD has established standard workflows for data management. The integration of these new capabilities into the PRTD spectral imaging system enhances this technology to advance non-destructive analysis of collection items. This initiative is developing and storing layers of data that augment scholarly and curatorial research, aid library and student investigations of history and science, while preserving and protecting the original documents.