Risk Management for Digital Cultural Heritage Information in Malaysia

• Published in: International Conference on Information Management and Evaluation p. 1
• Main Authors: Manaf, Zuraidah Abd, Ismail, Aliza, Razlan, Noor Masliana, Manaf, Azizah Abd, Daruis, Rusni
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Reading Academic Conferences International Limited 01.05.2013
• Subjects: Archives & records; Case studies; Information management; Library collections; Metadata; Risk management; Sustainability; Malaysia
• ISSN: 2048-9846; 2048-9854

A crucial component of the nation's K-economy envisions the availability of digital content exchange or content infrastructure. The idea of providing and presenting information via electronic means and formats truly fascinates managers of information agencies worldwide. This phenomenon obviously affects the thinking and perception of the managers and administrators of libraries, museums, archives and galleries. Presently, cultural institutions are actively connecting their collections to these emerging knowledge networks. They are creating innovative network services based on the digital surrogates of their current collections in a rich, interactive digital environment. A recent study has been made on the digitisation of cultural heritage resources in cultural institutions in Malaysia, namely the National Library, National Archives, National Museum and the National Art Gallery. The four institutions are currently very active in building their digital content and exploring initiatives to deliver the information, however the extent of sustainability of those resources in unknown. The aim of this paper is investigates the digital preservation strategies that are adopted by Malaysian cultural institutions. A multiple case studies approach is used to examine the potential risks to digital cultural resources in four (4) selected Malaysian cultural institutions. Data is collected through structured interviews with information professionals who are involved in digitisation works in the selected cultural institutions. Findings reveal that digital cultural heritage resources in Malaysia is at risk in terms of digitisation policies, selection criteria, cost, staffing, technology, storage, metadata management and copyright. This study is very significant to professionals who are involved in archiving the digital cultural heritage as it can be a guide for managing risks in preserving valuable digital resources. The result of this study can be a practical tool for managing risks not only for digital cultural heritage but also to all documents in digital format. It also provides an insight to other researchers to seriously investigate other risks of digital cultural resources besides the risks that have been identified in this study. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]