Crowdsourcing our Cultural Heritage

Citation

Mike Kmiec (2015), "Crowdsourcing our Cultural Heritage", Library Review, Vol. 64 No. 6/7, pp. 506-507. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-02-2015-0023

Crowdsourcing our Cultural Heritage provides a comprehensive view of working with our communities to increase our reach and enhance our collections. The book covers the entire GLAM sector (galleries, libraries, archives and museums), and there is much here to learn and consider for libraries who work in this space.

The idea now known as “crowdsourcing” – using others from outside a particular discipline to assist with computational or descriptive tasks – is not a new one. The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, falls into this category with volunteer readers locating and documenting word usage for it. Digital technologies and the growth of the Internet have allowed this idea to blossom, and memory institutions have been quick to realise the potential this offers, both digitally and physically.

The first section of the book examines how different institutions worked with crowdsourcing, using it to both refine their collections and bring their communities closer. Each chapter looks at a project from across various GLAMs, some of which may be less well known than that of others. These stories give the background and mission of the institution, explain how crowdsourcing fits with that mission and provide details of their project. At times, the chapters delve into the technologies used to capture the wisdom of the crowd, which is useful for those in search of such tools.

An interesting point of this first section was the analysis of how the community of the institution interacted with the projects. Most showed a high engagement soon after the initial launch that lessened over time, but instead of vanishing entirely, it seemed to fall into a plateau pattern. People were still performing their crowdsourcing roles, just at a lower, steady level. The ensuing “what we learned” analysis helps contextualise these metrics, often investigating the motivations of the crowdsourcing community. As one might expect, the motivations vary based on material and task type, but understanding these motivations can surely help libraries wishing to incorporate (or continue) crowdsourcing.

In some instances, the authors detail what impact the crowdsourcing had on the institution, from necessary staff intervention through changes to collection practice. Again, these are important things to consider before beginning a project of this nature.

Two things to note in this section: first, although the GLAM sector worldwide is relatively small, the subset of everyone involved with crowdsourcing is even smaller. Many chapters refer to projects covered in other chapters, giving the interconnectedness a rich context. Second, although there were many mentions made of the National Library of Australia’s Trove and its crowdsourced newspaper correction, there is neither a chapter devoted to that project nor any the learning achieved. This may be because the work has been documented in detail elsewhere, but the lack was noticeable.

The second section of the book focuses on the more theoretical aspects of crowdsourcing and the questions, opportunities and challenges presented therein. The seeming disparity between “the official record” presented by the GLAM sector versus “the unofficial record” gained through crowdsourcing is the undercurrent here, but the authors seem to agree that there is a space in cultural heritage for both voices to be heard. As with anything in this sector, it is a matter of finding the balance that is right for the institution, while at the same time understanding what our communities require from us to stay connected and relevant.