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Discusses issues about who "owns" history and the impact of the change from physical to digital (scanned or photographed) historical items on unbundling historic preservation, interpretation, and curation. Points out the differences between the traditional approach to handling historic items and the opportunities created by the introduction of web platforms. Includes examples, both positive and negative. Also raises a question about public entities copyrighting historic documents. Presented at O'Reilly's Boston Ignite 9 on March 29, 2012. The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DnDFOcwVMo. Current project: The History List (www.TheHIstoryList.com).
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Why is it so easy to find this “history?”
Lee Wright at Ignite 9 in Boston on March 29, 2012: “History 2.0: Make History -- Save History”
But not this, our nation’s first treaty?Mutual defense treaty between local tribes and “the Governors of the said State of Massachusetts Bay and on behalf of said States, and the other United States of America.” Signed on July 19, 1776
http://www.watertowntreaty.org
Learning about history helps us understand the present and shape the future.
We bought an old house and discovered . . .
. . . a much more interesting past.
From
the
colle
ction
of t
he M
assa
chus
etts
Hist
oric
al S
ocie
ty.
L to
R:
Pau
l Rev
ere'
s de
posi
tion,
dra
ft, c
irca
1775
; Pau
l Rev
ere'
s de
posi
tion,
fair
copy
, circ
a 17
75; L
etter
from
Pau
l Rev
ere
to
Jere
my
Belk
nap,
circ
a 17
98
Who owns “history?”
Ownership = Physical possession = Control
Preservation + Interpretation + Curation
http://www.watertowntreaty.org
Interpretation
Curation
http://wolfwalker2003.ho
me.comcast.net/~wolfwalker2003/wam
p7.htm
Preservation
preservearchives.tu
mblr.com
http://off
onatangent.blogspo
t.com
/2008/05/ignite
-boston.html
http://be
ntley.um
ich.ed
u/refhom
e/tutoria
l/fin
dingaids.php
http://isuspe
cialcollection
s.wordp
ress.com
/2010/10/14/for-am
erican-archives-mon
th-an-on
line-tour-of-spe
cial-collection
s/
Systems and standards for organizing and finding physical items.
Archives and library science
Platforms for sharing, creating, empowering.
The Web and computer science
An approach built on public involvement.
http://www.placeography.org from the Minnesota Historical Society
http://www.WhatWasThere.com
Sharing images you own in context.
Fulfilling their mission.Digitize first and provide access to all.Use a Creative Commons license.Allow others to add value.
http://www.museumsoftware.com
“ . . . very user friendly . . . we love it . . .”
A “state-of-the-art” online experience.
http://osu.pastperfect-online.com/37573cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=60B9AAB0-21BA-4840-AE12-823303395220;type=101
Should historic items be copyrighted?
Speed the evolution.Create better tools and platforms.Adapt existing tools and platforms.
Be the revolution.Digitize first and provide access to all.Use a Creative Commons license.Ask institutions to do the same.
Lee@TheHistoryList.com
@TheHistoryList.com
Lee Wright
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