Collaborative Research
C A Research on a Description Method of Digital Material Information
| Type of Research | Scientific Research |
|---|---|
| Project Title | General Research in Museum Studies |
| Research Title | C A Research on a Description Method of Digital Material Information |
| Head of the Research Team | ADACHI Fumio |
| Research Period | 2007–2009 |
| Research Team |
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| Purpose | The number of digital materials available in the future is expected to increase, and the subjects of those materials are expected to become more diversified. This research aimed to promote their utilization and facilitate easier exchanges of information in digital media, by establishing essential descriptive methods based on certain models of origin and utilization and the forms of such information. International standardization initiatives have been promoted concerning information-based descriptive methods for materials that have a physical entity and are to be disclosed or exchanged; those methods are being adopted in Japan, too. In contrast, however, there are no definite descriptive methods for digital materials, though their number has increased and the subject matter has diversified—as seen in examples of high-resolution digital materials made from photo materials for research and exhibitions, computer graphics, images taken by a digital camera, etc. This is thought to be the case because describing the information found in digital materials is complicated by the fact that they vary in terms of process of acquisition (or generation), compared to materials with a physical entity; they have more latitude in required information, depending on the whether or not their originals still exist; and there are factures made of more than one digital material. The information to be included in the description depends largely on forms and intentions of use of the relevant materials; while materials with a physical entity often have a long history of use—and their forms of use are therefore easily predicted—digital materials are still in the vanguard, with little precedent of use. This situation also makes it difficult to include standardized items in the descriptions of digital materials. The fact that digital materials are easy to copy should also be taken into account when considering possible descriptive methods for digital materials. The research aims to establish certain models of acquisition or generation for digital materials, as well as those for their use; on this basis, the group looks to simplify seemingly complicated ways of describing these materials, in order to establish a standard information-based descriptive method for them. Taking into consideration that photos, microfilms, and other image materials share certain characteristics with digital materials, the research will also include descriptions of these forms. |
2008
Progress
The group held four workshops, in order to deepen its understanding of information-based descriptive methods for conventional-form materials and to clarify the conditions and themes that need to be examined in order to describe digital materials, including copyright information. At the same time, the group held four subcommittee meetings to examine specific descriptive methods for digital materials.
Result
Through discussions that took place at study and subcommittee meetings, the group obtained the following results.
Considering the current conditions and forms of digital materials, the information descriptions attached to them need to pertain to the original materials, rather than to the media or files containing the relevant data. While consistency is desired with respect to the descriptions used with original materials, it is also necessary to balance practicality with common sense.
The requirements of the descriptive methods for digital materials are just that: they can describe the structure of relevant materials comprising numerical data, as well as those comprising multiple forms of data, such as images, text, and audio; to this information can be added the particulars of the production process, such as conversion and reversion flexibility; in this way, they can be linked to information regarding the original materials, with there being no discrepancy.
For descriptions of digital materials, the group suggested a model that deconstructs compound materials into its various elements, to describe the production of each therein; it could also describe necessary information, in three separate categories: contents to be transcribed into digital materials, style of record expression, and forms of media. In this way, the description will clarify the contents of photos and copies, as well as their relationship to original materials.
2007
Progress
The group had four workshops, held variously at the NMJH, the Tokyo National Museum, and the National Institute of Informatics; during these meetings, the group members sought to clarify the present conditions of digital materials, the issues to be examined and their utilization forms, and understand descriptive methods for materials with a physical entity. In addition, the group summarized presentations made at the meetings and made this information available on the NMJH website.
Result
In the process of making presentations across four workshops, the group determined the current state of digital materials and obtained the following results.
The majority of digital materials comprise photos of original materials and their digitized forms. In addition to these, video and audio materials and text-based data (including inventory data) are also affected by the issues to be examined vis-à-vis digital materials. In terms of utilization models, business use within an institution, disclosure and exhibition, lending to external entities, and charged distribution for commercial use are issues to be considered.
The group has come to recognize that in addition to the fact that digital materials are easy to copy, they are easily manipulate and modify; this makes managing and describing them difficult. Furthermore, with respect to digital materials produced through complicated processes and those consisting of mixed elements, the group recognized one possibility: deconstruct them and provide descriptions for each production process.
