The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), a co-
initiator of the OpenAccess movement, has drawn up a set of best-practice
recommendations concerning the scholarly use of visual media. The
recommendations aimed at facilitating the scholarly use and
publication of historical digital images were drafted following consultations with
scholars and representatives of leading museums, libraries, image archives and
publishers. The aim of the document is to create a network of mutual
trust and cooperation between scholars and curators of cultural heritage
collections with a view to facilitating access to and the scholarly
use of visual media. The recommendations can be downloaded from the MIPWG
website which currently features a detailed report on the initiative.
The recommendations were prompted by the barriers encountered by
those who wish to use and publish images of cultural heritage objects. High
licence fees and complicated access regulations make it increasingly
difficult for scholars in the humanities to work with digital images. It is true
that the digitization of image collections has acted as a catalyst for scholarly
research. However, archives, collections and libraries differ greatly
with respect to the question of how, where and on what basis images may be
used for scholarly purposes. Moreover, their policies in this regard are
becoming increasingly restrictive, especially when it comes to new
forms of e-publishing.
The MPIWG drew up its recommendations for facilitating the scholarly
use of digital images following consultations with international experts
which took place in January 2008. The recommendations call on curators and
scholars to develop a mutually binding network of trust. The aim of the
initiative is to encourage stakeholders jointly to address the current and future
challenges raised by the digital age. The document urges curators to refrain from
restricting the public domain arbitrarily and calls on them to
accommodate the needs of scholars for reasonably-priced or freely-accessible
high-resolution digital images - both for print publications and new
Web-based forms of scholarly publishing. It exhorts scholars to
recognise museums, libraries and collections as owners and custodians of
physical objects of cultural heritage and to acknowledge their
efforts in making digital images available. Moreover, it urges them to take
their role as guarantors of authenticity and accurate attribution extremely
seriously.
Website:
http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/news/features/feature4/
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(PDF) Encouraging Witting Participation and Performance in Digital Live Art | © Jennifer G. Sheridan, Nick Bryan-Kinns, Alice Bayliss, 2007 Published by the British Computer Society People and Computers XXI – HCI… but not as we know it: Proceedings of HCI 2007 Linden J. Ball, M. Angela Sasse, Corina Sas, Thomas C. Ormerod, Alan Dix, Peter Bagnall, and Tom McEwan (Editors) | "We describe a framework for characterizing people’s behavior with Digital Live Art. Our framework considers people’s wittingness, technical skill, and interpretive abilities in relation to the performance frame. Three key categories of behavior with respect to the performance frame are proposed: performing, participating, and spectating. We exemplify the use of our framework by characterizing people’s interaction with a DLA - iPoi. This DLA is based on the ancient Maori art form of poi and employs a wireless, peer-to-peer exertion interface. The design goal of iPoi is to draw people into the performance frame and support transitions from audience to participant and on to performer. We reflect on iPoi in a public performance and outline its key design features."
