Cultural Heritage, Information Science, and the Creative Process

Abstract

Abstract The creative process has recently garnered research attention in the field of information science. Multiple authors have proposed original research directions and methods relating to the creative process with the goals of preserving, curating, and disseminating cultural heritage. This body of research provides empirical grounds for the development of better tools for artistic practice and, at a theoretical level, brings another interdisciplinary perspective on the creative process. The field of information science investigates the creative process through the lens of different theoretical frameworks, stemming notably from psychology, sociology, and linguistics. Research areas include empirical studies on music information–seeking behavior, creative process modeling, digital humanities projects for repertoire analysis, performance documentation methodologies, preservation frameworks, and theoretical investigations of the relationship between creative processes and archival documents. Together, these studies provide new insights into the field of information science by re-examining established categories of inquiry, as well as methodologies and ontologies pertaining to the field. The relationship between cultural heritage, information science, and the creative process highlights the singularity of the creative process as an object of research and provides a new critical perspective on the domains within which it is being investigated.