Project Title
Registration Methods for Born-Digital Photos
Project Description
This overarching digital collection project analyzed the acquisition methods of born-digital materials into museum collections. I chose to focus on digital photographs as objects, examining the standards and common practices for examining such materials from a registrarial perspective. I looked at how the process differed from traditional physical objects, reviewed transfer techniques, and analyzed the idea of what counts as a museum artifact (physical objects vs. representation).
Methods
I conducted research over several weeks to learn about the processes, workflows, and tools used by museum registrars and digital archivists when accessioning digital materials into collections. I based my project on a few different case studies from institutions such as the Met, Austin Library system, and J. Paul Getty Institutional Archives. I also interviewed the American Museum of Natural History’s senior registrar.
My Role
I am the sole creator of this project.
Learning Outcome Achieved
Museum Information Management & Technologies
Rationale
By conducting an evaluation of registration methods, I reviewed a process that will increasingly become everyday as more digital materials are preserved and accessioned. This project reinforced my knowledge of the OAIS model, including Information Packages and Designated Communities. The whole idea of digital preservation is to maintain accessibility to objects. Parts of my presentation examined the existing literature on archiving and accessioning born digital materials. Though the studies are an extremely useful foundation for the development of born-digital stewardship, they represent only the very limited perspective of large institutions with solid funding and expert technical support. As the amount of digital information grows rapidly and the art world expands into the virtual space of non-fungible tokens, it is crucial that all museums, both big and small, have the resources and capabilities to acquire digital artifacts or they risk the destruction of information. This deep-dive into registration methods aims to give inclusivity to small museums with overextended or untrained staff.
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