Information Studies Research

Overview of Broad Considerations of ICT

3.1 IT, and especially computer-based tools, plays a central role in the creation, collection, storage and dissemination of heritage information and this is beginning to have a pronounced effect on patterns of information use and communication. Significant improvements in technology—faster processors, large capacity storage devices, higher resolution and flat computer displays, faster and greater capacity networks, more powerful and flexible software, and improved retrieval and presentation tools—are enabling the heritage community to make better use of information technology in its work. Advances in hardware and software have been accompanied by progress in other technological and methodological areas that increase the complexity of the data structures we can model and the categories of data that computers can handle efficiently. Whereas in the past numeric and textual data were all that could be easily handled, now still and moving images and sound can be modelled, captured, manipulated, stored, and presented (i.e. displayed or played) using commonly available hardware and software. The speed and scope of such developments make it imperative that the institutions and funding agencies are aware of the changing landscape and the impact this will have on the objectives, aims, and methodologies of applicants

3.2 HLF ICT Policy should reflect current opportunities and anticipate future applications of ICT to the generation, storage, and use of heritage information. It should look especially at the new methods of handling information provided by the use of computers, telecommunications and other associated technologies. If the heritage community is to take full advantage of these opportunities not only do they need to develop a better understanding of the opportunities, but users need to be better equipped, motivated and trained in IT.

3.3 Nearly all those who contributed to this policy development exercise, whether through written submissions or interviews, encouraged the use of ICT to improve understanding of, and access to, the heritage. There was general agreement that the UK’s heritage provides an immense base of knowledge, artistic works, artefacts, architecture, and other heritage documents and resources that ICT could help both to preserve and to unlock. In many areas only public funds can make this happen (e.g. retroconversion of catalogues). In our conclusion, we recognise this. We strongly endorse the primary conclusion that content in digital form will have lasting value, whether that content consists in sites and monuments records, library and museum catalogues, archival finding aids, heritage documents, records of species, computer aided design models, or Virtual Reality reconstructions of the built heritage (often derived from detailed records of cultural remains). The ICT policy recommended to the HLF proposes that it concentrate on the development of resource creation infrastructure or the creation of digital resources themselves, but not on the provision of national distribution infrastructure. HLF’s Policy should take into account the likely technological problems and build on established policy implementation guidelines (see Section 13) to select low-risk ICT projects and to make them future-proof. Implementation of ICT Policy should be directed to avoid the creation of isolated islands of resources, in favour of a network of information resources.

3.4 The number of homes and offices across Britain with access to basic IT services continues to increase. As part of the Information Society Initiative, in 1997 the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) commissioned Spectrum Strategy Consultants to produce a benchmarking study to examine how the UK compared to other countries in the global information society. In many areas the UK compares favourably to the four other countries in the study, and this is particularly true in the use of home computers.

3.5 If the number of hosts is taken as the measure, the Internet expanded between July 1995 and July 1996 by 92% in the Americas, 82% in Europe, and 138% in the Pacific Rim. According to the NOP Internet Survey (January 1997), access to the Internet in the UK grew by 66% in the 12 months to December 1996. Telecommunications services support voice and data, and Britain is the second largest user of these services in the world. Very small companies (0-9 employees) constitute 94% of the UK’s 3,581,469 companies. The use of PCs by 76% of these companies is indicative of the widespread usage which IT has achieved in society. IT penetration in the business sector will have a knock-on impact on the general population. Indeed, more than 75% of those living in the UK fear that if they do not take part in the developments they will be at a disadvantage. However, 52% of British companies do not believe that their workforce has adequate IT skills, and many are investing to give them access to training in the necessary skills. The 1996 Motorola Report on the Information Society indicated that 31% of men and 23% of women in the UK are trained in IT by their companies. Gradually, the UK is becoming skilled in the use of IT.

3.6 The Government’s proposed launch of a National Grid for Learning to connect all the primary and secondary schools in the UK should open new opportunities for the heritage sector. A unique opportunity is fast approaching where the heritage sector could be expected to provide raw primary data for educational purposes to schools. A major problem is that computing facilities in Britain’s schools are dated, and even when they are connected to a national network it is unlikely that many of them could run suitable software to take advantage of the resources which the heritage sector might provide. A recent study found that:

• 50% of desktop computers in primary schools are over five years old;
• 50% of secondary schools have a pupil–to–computer ratio of 10:1;
• 30% of primary schools have a pupil–to–computer ratio of 30:1; and
• teachers are under-trained.

If IT is to be used effectively, these issues must be addressed by national and local government, otherwise the impact of heritage resources on education will be limited.

3.7 ICT makes it possible to communicate complex ideas using combinations of charts, three-dimensional (3D) representations, images, sounds, and texts. Study of large databases of biological data make it possible to identify the relationships normally hidden in the quantity of information because users can search, sort, select, compare, and extract data. For example, the comparison of time series data and the facility to compare different categories of data can be used to spot at an early stage subtle shifts in the condition of habitats and in the distribution of species which threaten our natural heritage. Without computers such studies would not be feasible. Much of our heritage held by museums, libraries, and archives, with some national exceptions, is little understood and not available to the public because these collections are not well documented or because the documentation is difficult to use.