Browse Exhibits (2 total)

“Digitization and Textiles in Archives” is an exhibition about how we interact with textiles in archives both online and in-person. Specifically, the exhibition seeks for viewers to question what information they can learn through textile objects and their description. There are extensive debates over the value of providing digital images of items, particularly textiles, which complicate digitization due to their dimension and texture. Furthermore, users of textile collections in archives might gain different insights from handling a physical object at an archive versus viewing one on a screen. Several archives have sought to increase the use of textile archives and collect data on the benefits of this use for the learning experience. Alternatively, many studies are seeking ways to make these collections more widely available for use via digitization. These researchers argue that this allows for expanded access to archival materials, and in some cases can be important to preserving items. With digitization arises a range of complicated questions. What information might be lost in the digitization process? How can digitization efforts ensure that they protect the cultural heritage of materials? How can items be accurately described with metadata? How should metadata standards evolve? Concerns around metadata, description, preservation, ownership, and provenance, are all problems that researchers have examined surrounding digitization and textiles. These questions and concerns are essential to conducting digitization projects ethically and carefully. Some researchers have proposed the idea of digitization efforts as a complementary device to in-person viewing experiences rather than a replacement for in-person experiences, suggesting the ways that digitization technology can encourage viewers to examine textile artifacts thoughtfully and analytically (Idacavage & McAndrews, Eastop). When exploring this exhibition, viewers are encouraged to examine, question, and critique the images they see, as well as considering the access and information that digitization can provide.