The convergence of information technology and data management for digital imaging in museums

Abstract

Increasingly complex programs for the collection, study, preservation, storage, and display of digital images of cultural heritage require the integration of large amounts of data. These data ensure the integrity, identification, and persistence of the digital resource, whether that resource is in a museum, a library, or an archive. Effective data and metadata standards, as well as protocols for integrating disparate data-sets, are crucial. The Walters Art Museum has addressed these challenges with two very different programs for the creation of exemplary digital data-sets: (1) ‘The Digital Palimpsest,’ the result of a 10-year spectral imaging study of the Archimedes Palimpsest, a privately owned manuscript containing the earliest known copy of Archimedes’ writings; and (2) ‘The Islamic Digital Resource,’ the digitization of the Walters’ collection of Islamic illuminated manuscripts. This paper discusses the challenges faced in creating these resources, and the importance of data management and effective systems integration in overcoming those challenges.