The history and future of local history infrastructure:Open access and Commodification of local history in the United States and the Anglosphere

摘要

This paper argues that constructing an open access infrastructure for the global sharing of local history information requires understanding the historical periodization of local history infrastructures across time and space. This paper presents such a periodization in the contexts of the United States and the Anglosphere. Local history infrastructure is composed of deliberately created institutions that make accessible the historical information of local, historical, organic communities. A key finding is that the global spread of information technology has enabled a business model to emerge for charging access to community information. This business model conflicts with the historical model wherein community memory is construed as a free, public good.