Emergent Histories

This volume demonstrates how the digital revolution is shaping archival practices in museums and other heritage collections.For generations, artifacts and information of all kinds have been assembled in diverse collections across the UK. Museum objects, archives, pictures, moving images and media, records of historical places, and even datasets derived from state, commercial, and individual activity have all been carefully catalogued and stored. Yet in most museums and galleries, only a tiny proportion of physical collections are shown in public displays, with vast stores kept in reserves that are seldom used by researchers. These great repositories of cultural capital and the knowledge they hold has been largely untapped--until now. Historical and curatorial practice is likely to be transformed by new digital techniques, including machine learning. This book provides concrete examples of researchers experimenting with these techniques and reflects on the significance of this digital turn. Emergent Histories argues that by digitally reuniting museum collections via virtual records with other heritage collections, they could see more sustained use, transforming historical and curatorial practice along the way.